A nine-week-old rhinoceros made its debut – with its mother close by – at a California zoo this week. The greater one-horned rhino trotted along side its mother at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park on Thursday, exploring its new landscape and meeting other animals in the herd.
“The male calf, named Parvesh, seemed eager to explore his new habitat for the first time and could be seen running – and stumbling – to keep up with his mother,” the zoo said in a statement.
Parvesh, which means “lord of celebration” in Hindi, was born on Feb. 25 to mother Alta, the dominate female in the herd, and father, Bophu. Mother and calf were allowed to bond privately before being allowed into the 40-acre exhibit to meet other members of the rhino family, including Parvesh’s sister, 2½-year-old Charlees.
Greater one-horned rhinos were once commonplace in southeast Asia, but the animals are now considered endangered numbering perhaps 3,250 in the wild hemmed into parts of India and Nepal. Parvesh is the 66th rhino born at the Safari Park in the past four decades.
Photo San Diego Zoo Safari Park
