SANTIAGO – Pantaleon, the first white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros born in South America, is to make public debut today.
This historical birth occurred on July 27 in Chile”s Buin Zoo, 35 kilometers south of capital Santiago, reports the Radio Cooperativa.
Pantaleon, son of Hannah and Oliver, weighed 62 kg and drew its first breath amid a 30-min birth work.
Pantaleon, belonging to Ceratotherium simum species, is the first of its kind to be born in South America.
Healthy and with a weight gain of 40 kg in just 20 days thanks to its mum’s feeding, Pantaleon was named after the Catholic saint.
Experts have recalled it is a threatened and endangered species. It is believed that there are between 19,000 and 21,000 animals of this kind all over the world.
The achievement with Pantaleon is remarkable, according to scientists, because a pair of rhinos can breed one every four years and the state of pregnancy lasts 18 months. In addition, the mother must breastfeed the newborn during two years.