There is a new animal for you to meet at Edinburgh Zoo. Qabid is a two and a half year-old male about half the size of an adult.
The rhino has come from Planckendael Zoo in Belgium and has been placed in the care of expert keepers in Edinburgh.
After a long journey Qabid the two and a half year old rhino will need this weekend to recover and Edinburgh Zoo are restricting visitor numbers until next week.
Karen Stiven, senior keeper at Edinburgh Zoo, said: “We are very excited to welcome Qabid into our care and it’s great to see him settling in and exploring his new surroundings after his 600 mile journey from Belgium.
“We have a long history of rhino conservation at Edinburgh Zoo and an important role to play in the European breeding programme. In the wild, young male rhinos leave their mothers at around Qabid’s age and become solitary until they are old enough to breed.
“In the past we have raised two pairs of bachelor rhinos. Baabuu and Fanindra left in 2010 to be paired with females and have both successfully reproduced in the years since. We’re anticipating the same success for Samir who left in 2016 and Bertus who left earlier this year.
“We hope Qabid will be joined by another juvenile rhino soon and that they’ll follow in the footsteps of their predecessors when they are fully grown.”
Rhino species across the world are under increasing threat of extinction as a result of poaching and habitat loss. Greater one-horned rhinos are currently classed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Viewing will be restricted over the weekend while Qabid settles in to his new home.
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