It's a boy! San Diego Zoo Safari Park welcomes baby rhino

San Diego Zoo Safari Park has welcomed a baby boy to the Nikita Kahn Rhino Rescue Center.

The southern white rhino calf was born on Aug. 6 to first-time mom Livia, and dad J Gregory and has been enjoying rolling around in the mud to help keep cool.

 
Wildlife care specialists said the calf, who is yet-to-be-named, is "healthy, confident and full of energy."  They also described Livia as an "excellent mother, very attentive and protective of her offspring."

Livia is now among the female rhinos at the rescue center who could potentially serve as a surrogate mother to a northern white embryo.

As of 2022, only two northern white rhinos remain on earth, residing at a wildlife conservancy in Kenya. Both are females and unable to reproduce naturally.