Whipsnade Zoo had a very important arrival back on the 2nd October this year.  

The world welcomed little Khulu, a southern white rhino calf.   His mum is called Fahari, and both rhinos are doing well! 

Khulu is loving his time outside, especially having a good wallow...

Khulu has just started to venture out of his cosy den, which is indoors - but he's delighted to have discovered the muddy wallows in the paddock, and he's taken the opportunity to get down and dirty there!  He's got 21 acres to explore, so no doubt he'll find more wallows to enjoy! 

Khulu is a Zulu word.  It means both small and great or significant - and Khulu is a very significant rhino indeed!   There are just 17,500 southern white rhinos left in the wild, so if we take the phrase of the astronaut Neil Armstrong and alter it a bit, you could say this is one step for man, one giant leap for mankind, we could change it slightly to one step for Khulu, one giant leap for southern white rhinos. Every rhino matters! 

Khulu will be joining the European breeding programme, and this is important because it helps create agenetically diverse and healthy back up population.  

Find out more about the rhinos at Whipsnade here.  

There's plenty going on at Whispnade this Christmas, by the way, from 23rd November to 6th January,  including the opportunity to Meet Santa, and weekly walks with different themes from the 7th November to the 19th December.  And of course, there are all the animals to see!!  And if you're looking for a gift for an animal lover, there are gift experiences, tickets to buy so your loved ones can visit, gift memberships of course, and the online shop!  

You could also donate a Festive Dinner to the animals, from £5.00 - it depends if you want to go for a starter, a main course or a dessert - or go for all three!  Find out more here. 

Head off to Whipsnade Zoo's website here.