Baby rhino rare and beautiful

BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo is home to one of only three black rhinos born in captivity anywhere in the world in the past two years. Today in Africa there are fewer than 4,000 rhinos, and the fact one was born here is a beautiful thing—literally.

After a contest, BREC officially named the newborn “Zuri,” Swahili for “beautiful.”

Gemstone, a 21-year-old female from San Francisco Zoo, carried Zuri for 16 ˝ months and gave birth on Sept. 28. The father is Tatu, a 12-year-old male who came to the zoo by way of Texas.

Whole Foods Market sponsored the naming contest, inviting Baton Rougeans to name the plumpest baby in town—Zuri was about 75 pounds at birth. Mary Clare Welshons, Dylan Walker and Catherine North were the finalists, and their nominations were put to a vote in November at Whole Foods, with a majority of voters deciding BREC’s baby rhino should be Zuri. You can see Zuri—who as of Christmas was up to about 150 pounds— at BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo. brzoo.org.