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Endangered 'unicorn' rhino born at D.C. zoo
This baby weighs 138 pounds
September 20, 1996
Web posted at: 7:15 p.m. EDT
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Curious visitors were expected to flock to the National Zoo this weekend to see the newest inhabitant -- a rare single-horn Asian rhinoceros named Chitwan who was born Wednesday.
The mother, Mechi, was pregnant for 16 months before giving birth to the female calf. Chitwan weighed 138 pounds (69 kilograms).
The baby rhino, a member of the endangered Rhinoceros Unicornis species, was reported in good health and was already "very active," a zoo official said Thursday. Mother and child were getting to know each other, he added.
The rare breed, also known as the "greater one-horned Asian rhino," has thick, armor-like skin, three toes on each foot and a horn that can reach 25 inches (62 centimeters) in length. Adults can reach 14 feet (4.2 meters), weighing up to 6,000 pounds.
The rhinos are endangered as humans invade their natural habitat, said John Lehnhardt of the National Zoo. (21 secs. / 459K AIFF or WAV sound) Some rhinos are hunted down for their horns, which are prized for their ornamental value and importance in traditional medicines.
Mechi was born in Nepal's Chitwan Park in 1986. She and another female rhino, Kali, were given to the National Zoo by Nepal in 1987 to help bolster the breeding of the rare rhinos in North America.
Mechi and her baby are housed at the National Zoo's Elephant House. The father, Pandu, has been moved to the Philadelphia Zoo to make room for his offspring and the new mother, who gave birth to a stillborn calf in July 1992. Pandu will return to the National Zoo when Chitwan is weaned.
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