Rare Rhino Birth in Kenya

Rare Rhino Birth in Kenya

The first black rhino in more than 25 years was born in northern Kenya this month.

It was born at the Sera Community Rhino Sanctuary.

The birth comes when poaching has put the black rhino on a list of animals that face extinction. Only about 5,000 black rhinos remain.

Female black rhinos usually have one baby at a time. At birth, baby rhinos, called calves, weigh between 40 to 64 kilograms, according to the San Diego Zoo.

Conservationists in Kenya say they are pleased with the birth. But protecting the black rhinos is expensive. A sanctuary in east Africa estimates it costs between $10,000 and $15,000 to protect one rhino.

The Sera sanctuary is becoming a popular home for rhinos. The first rhinos were moved to Sera in 2015. The baby rhino’s birth brought the population at the sanctuary to 11. Officials hope to bring 10 more rhinos to Sera this year.

White rhinos and black rhinos live in the grasslands and floodplains of eastern and southern Africa, according to the National Geographic Society.

I’m Jim Dresbach.

Jill Craig wrote this story for VOA News. Jim Dresbach adapted it for Learning English and VOANews.com. Kathleen Struck was the editor.

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Words in This Story

rhino – n. informal language use for rhinoceros

poaching – v. to catch or kill an animal illegally

extinction – n. the state or situation that results when something such as a plant or animal species has died out completely

sanctuary – n. a place where someone or something is protected or given shelter

calves – v. a baby of a large animal like a rhino

grasslands – n. land covered with grasses and other soft plants but not with bushes and trees

floodplains – n. an area of low, flat land along a stream or river that may flood