White Rhinos at the Waterhole

I’d say Jamila (who we now know is due in November) is on the right. She certainly looks pregnant.

@Zoofan15 Yeah, I assumed so when I visited and asked but unfortunately couldn't share!

Amali's next to her, with Nyah at the back. Zambezi was also on other side of the bush, but like @ApeLadyNZ said in the news thread, he seemed to be just trailing behind the girls maintaining his distance.

@Jambo It never ceases to amaze me how fast rhino calves grow up. It really wasn’t that long ago I saw Amali running full speed around the paddock; now she looks like a small adult. She’s currently undergoing trial separations from Jamila, to prepare her for the birth of her sibling.

@Zoofan15 It was interesting to see how dependent she still was on mum, compared to Nyah. Was by her side almost the entire time I was there.

@Jambo Jamila and Nyah’s bond would have been broken shortly before the birth of Amali. I remember on The Zoo how Mazithi similarly drove away her then two year old daughter Mbili ahead of the birth of Kito, as she would have done in the wild. I was impressed how quickly Auckland Zoo managed to reintegrate Jamila (and Amali) with Nyah; as it took a long time with Mazithi and her daughters.

@Jambo - yes, whenever I've seen the rhinos of late, it seems to be the three females in a group with Zambezi off to the side. I even witnessed, on one visit, Jamila, Nyah and Amali down by the watering hole, and Zambezi began to approach them. Jamila moved towards him in what appeared to be a bluff charge, and Zambezi retreated back up the hill.

@ApeLadyNZ Zambezi has now been separated from Nyah as Nyah has begun cycling. It’ll be interesting to see if Nyah (and Amali) are both reintegrated with Jamila and and the new calf in early 2025.

@Zoofan15 Obviously you can now see why Auckland are looking for an additional rhino habitat. Once Burma leaves in the coming months, they could easily move Zambezi or the two girls (Nyah and Amali) over right away.

@Zoofan15 Thanks for the information! I was thinking Nyah would be near the age to be cycling, but wasn't aware she had matured that far already!

@Jambo - yes, there definitely is a need for more space for the rhinos, especially if further breeding and expansion is planned in the near future!

@Jambo @ApeLadyNZ The current plan is for Nyah to transfer out; probably to Australia as all the bulls in New Zealand are related to her. I’m guessing they’ll retain her as a companion for Amali in the short term (as she’ll be separated from Jamila soon); and then perhaps look at exporting her next year.