DOUBLE RHINO MILESTONES AT TARONGA WESTERN PLAINS ZOO

In a major feat for the Taronga Western Plains Zoo conservation breeding program, two rhino calves have reached major milestones in their development.

Dafari, a male Black Rhino calf, turned one this week and Rajah, a male Greater One-horned Rhino calf, will mark six months since his birth on 25 April.

Acting Premier and Member for Dubbo Troy Grant said Taronga’s very successful rhino breeding program is one of the many attractions to the zoo which is a mainstay of regional tourism for the area.

The zoo operates breeding programs for three of the five surviving species of rhinoceros in the world, namely the Black, Greater One-horned and White Rhinoceroses.

Rajah, born 25 October, was the first Greater One-horned Rhino calf to be born in Australia. His birth was a result of over 15 years of planning, enthusiasm and commitment from zoo staff, keepers and veterinarians.

Taronga was one of a small number of zoos chosen globally by the International Rhino Foundation in 1992 to rapidly develop a conservation breeding program for the Black Rhinoceros, as the species faced a catastrophic decline.