SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Zoo Miami has made history with the birth of a Greater One Horned Indian Rhinoceros.
Seven-year-old Akuti gave birth on Tuesday at around 12:30 a.m. after a 15-month pregnancy.
Team members from the South East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction and Conservation (SEZARC) and Dr. Monica Stoops from the Cincinnati Zoo met at Zoo Miami to artificially inseminate Akuti after she had several failed attempts at natural birth.
This is the first successful birth of a Greater One Horned Indian Rhinoceros from induced ovulation and artificial insemination. This is the zoo’s second birth of this species of rhino.
Akuti was artificially inseminated on Jan. 9, 2018 with the help of 18-year-old Suru, another rhino at Zoo Miami.
She was under 24-hour observation where zoo staff to closely monitor the fetus as it developed.
The newborn is said to be doing well by zoo staff.
Akuti and her newborn are expected to make their public debut in a few weeks if everything goes well.
SEZARC works to increase the populations of rare and endangered species around the nation.
Indian rhinos have been poached for their horn, leaving less than 3,000 in the wild.
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