Indonesia names newly born Sumatra rhino
JAKARTA, June 25 (AP/UNB) - Indonesia is celebrating the first birth in captivity in Asia of an endangered Sumatran rhinoceros in 123 years.
Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hassan on Monday gave the name Andatu to the male calf - a contraction of its parents' names and also the words for "gift of god."
The mother, Ratu, gave birth on Saturday after a nearly 16-month pregnancy. It was the fifth known captive birth of a Sumatran rhino in the world and first in Asia since the birth of a calf in the Calcutta Zoo in 1889.
Ratu, who was born in the wild and had miscarried twice, was mated with Andalas, who was born in the U.S. and brought to Indonesia in 2007.
Hassan described the birth as a milestone in preservation efforts for the endangered species.
Minister of Forestry Zulkifli Hassan on Monday gave the name Andatu to the male calf - a contraction of its parents' names and also the words for "gift of god."
The mother, Ratu, gave birth on Saturday after a nearly 16-month pregnancy. It was the fifth known captive birth of a Sumatran rhino in the world and first in Asia since the birth of a calf in the Calcutta Zoo in 1889.
Ratu, who was born in the wild and had miscarried twice, was mated with Andalas, who was born in the U.S. and brought to Indonesia in 2007.
Hassan described the birth as a milestone in preservation efforts for the endangered species.
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