Lee Richardson Zoo provides an update on baby Rhino, Ayubu

Garden City, Kan (WesternKansasNews.Com) – Lee Richardson Zoo staff are pleased to share that Ayubu, a one-and-a-half-year-old black rhino, has responded well to treatment and is recovering nicely from a recent illness.  Ayubu and his mom, Johari, are back in the outdoor habitat next to his dad, Jabari.

Lee Richardson Zoo providing rhino support

While Ayubu has grown a great deal over the eighteen months since his birth, at 1,310 pounds he is still a little rhino compared to his mom and dad, who weigh 2,335 and 2,655 pounds, respectively.  Treatment is ongoing for the trio and is being well received by all.  Results from various tests to identify the issue are pending.

According to the International Rhino Foundation, “Black rhinos have suffered the most drastic decline of all rhino species.  Between 1970 and 1993, the population of black rhinos decreased by 96% from approximately 65,000 to only 2,300 surviving in the wild.  Since 1996, intense anti-poaching efforts and strategic translocations to safer areas have allowed the species to slowly recover and increase in size.  Poaching still looms as the greatest threat.”

Learn what you can do to help black rhinos when you visit Lee Richardson Zoo in person or online.  You can also check out International Rhino Foundation at www.rhinos.org.