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Today is World Rhino Day, and Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating with a giant pachyderm-sized announcement: eastern black rhino Kapuki is pregnant! The calf is due in early spring at Regenstein African Journey.

Twenty-year-old Kapuki is a veteran mom, having birthed King in 2013 and Romeo in 2019. The sire is Utenzi, a 21-year-old rhino who arrived at the zoo in 2022. The pregnancy was confirmed via hormone analysis using noninvasive fecal samples.

This pregnancy is the result of a recommendation by the Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan®, a collaborative population management among institutions that are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. As part of AZA’s Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program, Lincoln Park Zoo works collaboratively with other accredited zoos to protect eastern black rhinos and their habitats in the wild as well.

The species is critically endangered; the eastern black rhino population dropped to just 2,000 individuals in the mid-1990s due to poaching and habitat loss. Thanks to conservation efforts, which included assistance from Lincoln Park Zoo, eastern black rhino numbers have increased to more than 5,000 since then. But, as they only have one calf every few years, recovery takes time.

“Every birth matters to this critically endangered species, and we’re proud to play a role in growing the eastern black rhinoceros population,” Curator Cassy Kutilek says. “Kapuki is an experienced mother, successfully raising King and Romeo, and we’re looking forward to seeing her in this maternal role again soon.”

Image of Utenzi and Kapuki courtesy of Curator Cassy Kutilek

The gestation period for eastern black rhinos is around 16 months. Calves can weigh up to 100 pounds at birth and are able to stand within just a few hours. The young are weaned after a year or two and become adults at age 4 (females) and age 7 (males). Three adult rhinos currently make their home at the zoo: Kapuki, Utenzi, and seven-year-old Lulu. Find out more about the species here.

Stay tuned for more news as Kapuki’s pregnancy progresses! And if you’d like to contribute to the rhinos’ care, consider Adopting one symbolically or providing for them via the zoo’s Wish List.