The Newest, Cutest Baby Animals from the World's Zoos & Aquariums

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Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (22)

Zookeepers at Chester Zoo have revealed the name of a rare baby Rhino born on May 3.

Meet Akeno, the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros calf – only the second of his kind to ever be born at the zoo. The name Akeno is of Asian origin, meaning “beautiful sunrise.”

Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (37)
Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (37)Photo Credit: Chester Zoo

Although he is just six weeks old, Akeno has bundles of energy and is proving to be a real handful for his 11-year-old mother, Asha.

Greater One-horned Rhinos can weigh up to 2.4 tons as adults, but despite their bulky size, they can run at speeds of up to 25 mph.

Also known as Indian Rhinos, Greater One-horned Rhinos live in northeastern India and southern Nepal. Like all Rhinos, they feed on grasses and other vegetation. And, like Rhinos in Africa and other parts of Asia, Greater One-horned Rhinos are illegally hunted for their horns, which are mistakenly believed to have medicinal properties in some cultures. In reality, Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same substance that makes up human hair and fingernails.

Due to overhunting and habitat loss, only about 200 Greater One-horned Rhinos remained in the wild by the middle of the 20th century. Steps to protect the Rhinos were taken just in time and today, about 3,500 live in the wild. They are currently listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

See more pictures of Akeno below.

Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (19)
Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (19)
Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (19)

Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (29)
Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (29)
Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (29)
Zoo reveals baby rhino’s name (29)

 

3 responses to “Meet Akeno the Baby Rhino at Chester Zoo”

  1. Claire Avatar
    Claire

    Why isn’t there a campaign to make fun of the people who think the rhino horn medications will cure them. If they were ridiculed regularly, if it were written in their newspapers and the story was told on their radio and news programs and in their movies and television programs AS humor, to make fun of them for being so superstitious (stupid), maybe the truth would get out there.

  2. Luca Wight Avatar
    Luca Wight

    I think people are overly worried about sounding “racist”. Even though obviously it’s not, people are sort of wimpy about calling out that stuff.

  3. Charlotte Avatar
    Charlotte

    People don’t believe in rhino horn cures for rational reasons. They just believe. Ridicule is more likely to make them cling to their belief than put them off. This would be especially true if the ridicule came from people of a different culture.

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