**A New Arrival to Celebrate**: A heartwarming tale unfolds at the Toronto Zoo with the birth of a precious white rhino calf named Sabi, bringing joy and hope to the species.
**The challenges of conception**: Learn about the reproductive hurdles faced by white rhinos like Sabi and the triumph achieved by the dedicated Wildlife Care and Reproductive Science teams at the Zoo.
**A Commitment to Conservation**: Discover how the Toronto Zoo’s holistic approach to wildlife care contributes to preserving vulnerable species like the white rhino.
**The Gestation Journey**: An inside look at Sabi’s 16-month gestation period, her special care, and the remarkable steps taken by the Zoo to ensure a successful pregnancy.
**Connecting with Conservation Efforts**: Find out how you can get involved with protecting white rhino populations, ensuring a brighter future for these majestic animals.
As the early morning light filtered through the windows at the Toronto Zoo, a sense of anticipation and excitement permeated the air. In those tranquil moments, nature bestowed a wondrous gift upon the facility and all those who cherish wildlife. Sabi, a resident white rhino at the Zoo since 2012, became a proud first-time mother, introducing her precious calf to the world. This remarkable event sparked joy within the Zoo family and illuminated the tireless dedication behind the scenes to ensure the continuation of this precious species.
White rhinos have long captured the public’s imagination with their distinct broad mouths and immense size. Yet, their continuation teeters on a delicate balance due to threats in their natural habitat. The new calf’s arrival is a beacon of hope, symbolizing the possibility of a resurgence for his kind. Observing this infant, we glimpse the innocent and compelling charm inherent in such awe-inspiring creatures.
Few may know the considerable efforts required to realize such a miraculous event. For Sabi, conception proved a formidable challenge. Her unusually long estrus cycles, nearly double the length of the typical white rhino, required attentive adjustments in care and diet by her devoted Wildlife Care team. With unwavering optimism, it was as though the staff at the Zoo deciphered a complex riddle written in the language of hormones and behavior to unlock the path to pregnancy.
The collaboration between the Wildlife Care team and Reproductive Science experts, led by Dr. Gabriela Mastromonaco, reflects a profound commitment to the well-being of the animal kingdom. Placing the holistic health of the Zoo’s residents as paramount, the teams crafted a treatment plan attuned to Sabi’s individual needs. Their success is a testament to the power of persistence married to scientific insight.
Against a dispiriting global scene where rhinos endure the ravages of habitat loss and illegal poaching, this single birth at the Zoo carries exceptional weight. A male calf, strong and healthy, emerges not only as a symbol of survival but as the embodiment of a possible resurgence for white rhinos in the wild. While still listed as Near Threatened, efforts like those demonstrated by the Toronto Zoo fortify the protective shield around these gentle giants, ensuring their thunderous footsteps continue resounding across the landscapes they roam.
Witnessing labor, especially of such a grand mammal, is understanding life’s raw power and delicate balance. Initially signaled by her restless movements, Sabi’s labor culminated in a delivery of urgency and tender care. And now, Sabi demonstrates an innate maternal instinct, her watchful eye unwavering as she nudges, licks, and cleans her young. The calf, yet to bear a name, is already closely observed by the Zoo’s Wildlife Health team to ensure his robust start in life.
Perhaps less known is the long gestation period that precedes the arrival of a white rhino calf, a span of 16 months filled with careful planning and attentive supervision. Sabi’s Wildlife Care team embraced this challenging interval, gently guiding her through voluntary ultrasound examinations, the echoes of the equipment translating into images of hope as the growth and progress of the unborn calf were meticulously documented. Such glimpses into the womb remind us of the delicate dance of creation, where every moment is a step toward life.
The Zoo’s approach to this birth, shrouded in quiet until the dawn of Sabi’s third trimester, underscores a deliberate and respectful intimacy between caretaker and charge—a cherished secret kept in the name of preservation and care. Yet, the eventual sharing of this joyous news with the Zoo’s community is a celebration not only of a successful birth but of the tireless nights spent in anxious oversight, the “baby-proofing” of habitats, and the vigilant eyes of the veterinarian team.
Birth within the confines of a conservation-minded institution like the Toronto Zoo is not solely a localized event; it resonates far beyond the gates, embracing a global community united in the quest to safeguard wildlife. It strengthens the linchpin of sustainable conservation efforts, allowing us to believe that with education, advocacy, and direct action, the trajectory of species like the white rhino can arc towards recovery rather than descent.
In an expression of this commitment and honor of the calf’s birth, the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy unveiled the Wild Rhino Conservation Fund. This novel initiative creatively channels support to organizations such as the International Rhino Foundation, amplifying the impact on rhino protection efforts where they are most acutely needed—in situ, within nature’s embrace. The public’s generosity, with contributions directed entirely towards frontline conservation, bolsters the Zoo’s mission and lends credence to a collective will to enact meaningful change.
But support need not always manifest in grand gestures. Endowing the growing rhino family at the Zoo with enrichment gifts provides immediate and tangible benefits, contributing to these majestic creatures’ overall health and happiness. Each contribution becomes a thread in a larger tapestry, depicting a world where humans and wildlife exist in a mutually sustaining dance.
The narrative of Sabi and her newborn calf is more than a singular tale of new life; it’s a chord that resonates with our innate capacity for empathy and serves as an emblem of unity in the shared pursuit of conservation. As we consider the vastness of the web of life and our place within it, moments like these remind us of our power to effect change and the endless wonders within the reach of kindred spirits dedicated to nurturing our natural world.
If we pause and consider the full breadth of what has transpired—the dedication, the science, the care, the hope—we are left with an overwhelming sense of awe for what can be achieved. Let this story inspire us all to look after the diverse species that share our planet, preserve their future, and continue fostering a legacy of compassion, stewardship, and an unwavering dedication to the creatures that enrich our existence.
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Source Description
Sometimes, the best gifts come following the holiday season 🎁🦏
At 7:58 am yesterday (Thursday, December 28th), we were thrilled to welcome white rhino Sabi’s first calf to the Zoo family!
Please note: White rhinos Sabi and her new baby are NOT currently visible to guests visiting the Zoo, but updates will be shared about how and when guests can view this new Zoo resident.
While every rhino pregnancy is exciting, Sabi’s was especially so. Following her arrival in Toronto in 2012, hormone monitoring performed by our Reproductive Science team identified that Sabi exhibited “long” estrus cycles (~70 days in length, compared to the typical ~30 days of fertile females), making conception a significant challenge for her. Following continual adjustments in daily care and diet, Sabi’s behavior in spring 2022 suggested that her hormonal cycles had switched from long to the typical cycle length. The likelihood of successfully conceiving for the first time drops with age in many species, including white rhinos, and Zoo staff were keenly aware of this with Sabi. Your Toronto Zoo Wildlife Care and Reproductive Science teams were thrilled that the breeding introductions with white rhino male Tom in the summer of 2022 were successful. This is the second calf sired by the 15-year-old rhino.
“As we’ve learned in many species, successful reproduction depends on optimal animal health and well-being,” says Dr. Gabriela Mastromonaco, Senior Director of Wildlife Science at Toronto Zoo. “With fertility challenges being a significant concern for conservation breeding programs, your Toronto Zoo focuses on a holistic approach to well-being that brings together our wildlife care and science teams to develop treatment plans that support individual animal needs. We are excited to see our teams’ efforts rewarded with the new addition to our rhino family.”
Sabi’s calf came into the world following a few hours of labor. Around midnight, Sabi’s Wildlife Care team noticed her walking and rolling around. When keepers checked on her in the early hours of the morning, more fluid had been discharged, and her water officially broke, culminating with a successful delivery at 7:58 am.
Thanks to her Veterinary team and Wildlife Care, Sabi is doing very well as a first-time mother and can be seen keeping a watchful eye on her little calf by licking and keeping him clean. The calf is a male, and the Wildlife Health team will also provide a full health check in the coming days.
A white rhino’s gestation period lasts approximately 16 months. Sabi’s dedicated Wildlife Care team worked with her and trained her to participate in voluntary ultrasound examinations, which allowed our team to confirm the pregnancy and monitor the calf’s early development. Given Sabi’s challenges with conceiving and those associated with a first pregnancy, we kept the news of her pregnancy under wraps until she reached the beginning of her third trimester.
“It’s amazing to be working with such a passionate and dedicated team and having the opportunity to share Sabi’s story,” says Dolf DeJong, CEO of Toronto Zoo. “Staff have been working overnight shifts to ensure someone was always with Sabi through the later stages of her pregnancy. They’ve been “baby-proofing” the habitat, and the veterinarian team has been keeping a very close eye on her, particularly over the last few months, to ensure we did everything possible to help bring a healthy calf into the world. We’ll give Sabi and her calf lots of space to bond, and we know our community will be here showing their support when the baby is viewable, likely this spring.”
A birth at your Toronto Zoo is always an exciting time for our team and our community of supporters. Still, importantly, it also helps secure the sustainability of rhino populations under human care. White rhinos in the wild are listed as Near Threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. There are fewer than 16,000 left in the wild, with numbers currently declining due to habitat loss and the continued increase in poaching of their horn for the illegal wildlife trade.
In honor of this significant birth, the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy has created the Wilding Rhino Conservation Fund to support organizations like the International Rhino Foundation and the critical work organizations like these do to protect wild rhino populations. This fund will further your Toronto Zoo’s conservation impact worldwide, with 100% of funds raised supporting white rhino conservation projects in the wild (“in-situ”). Donate today: www.wildlifeconservancy.ca/baby.
You can also support your Toronto Zoo’s growing white rhino family by giving them the gift of enrichment this holiday season: www.tzwcadopt.ca/pages/white-rhinos
