First Black Rhino Calf Leaving Potter Park Zoo
Potter Park Zoo's black rhino calf, Jaali, will be heading to a new home this fall.
According to Potter Park Zoo's Instagram, Jaali is the first black rhino born at Potter Park Zoo in 100-years. He will become part of a new environment, where he will be paired with a young female for breeding.
The black rhino is an endangered species
According to the International Rhino Foundation, there are five different types of rhino's and their population has dropped drastically. At the beginning of the 20th century, 500,000 rhinos roamed the wild.
By 1970, the rhino population dropped to 70,000 because of poaching. Rhinos are victims that are hunted for their horns and sold on the black market.
Today there are 28,000 rhinos walking the earth. Four out of five species of rhino are at risk of extinction. Three of those species are critically endangered and the black rhino is one of them. The black rhino population currently sits at 5,366 to 5,627.
Communications director at the International Rhino Foundation, Christopher Whitlach, told Fox 47 that they are doing everything they can to save the rhinos.
Rangers are on the frontline doing very hard work to keep those rhinos protected and make sure that balance of new birth can happen and grow that population.
For information on how to help protect the rhinos, visit the International Rhino Foundation's website.
Visiting Jaali
You still have time to visit Jaali before his new adventure this fall. Potter Park Zoo is open everyday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To follow Jaali's journey or for more information on the animals currently residing at the zoo visit potterparkzoo.org.
Below is a list of animals on Michigan's endangered species list.