Birth rhinoceros calf puts Arnhem in European top five

Thursday evening 16 January 2020 at 17:40 hours, a square-lipped rhinoceros was born at Royal Burgers’ Zoo. The bull looks to be in good health. He is the eleventh rhinoceros to see the light of day at the Arnhem zoo since 1998. Burgers’ Zoo is among Europe's top five rhino breeders. There are a total of 90 zoos with square-lipped rhinoceros in Europe.

Eight square-lipped rhinoceros in Arnhem

With the birth of the square-lipped rhino bull, there are currently a total of eight of these odd-toed ungulates living in Burgers’ Safari—one adult male aged 27.5 years, three adult females aged 32, 19 and 16 years and four calves aged 2.5 years, 1 year and 10 months, four months and the newborn addition. The 19-year-old female is the mother of the newest member of the crash.

Top five rhinoceros breeders in Europe

Research carried out by Burgers’ Zoo shows that with this birth the Arnhem Zoo joins Serengeti-Park Hodenhagen (Germany), Knowsley Safari Park (England), ZSL Whipsnade Zoo (England) and Safaripark Beekse Bergen (The Netherlands) as one of the top five breeders of rhinoceros in Europe. Europe has a total of ninety zoos with square-lipped rhinoceros.

Causes that make breeding more difficult

Not all adult bulls are fertile, and rhinoceros cows often develop cysts in the uterine horns. As a result, the sperm can no longer reach the egg, or the egg cannot come loose from the ovary.
The cysts can also block the egg from passing through the fallopian tube, or the fertilised egg from nestling in the uterine wall. Young cows being hormonally suppressed by their mothers is another problem zoos face. In this situation, the young cows only become fertile after being transferred to another zoo, which lifts the oppression.