30-Nov-09 8:00 AM CST

4th-generation Southern White Rhino Born in Ohio

CUMBERLAND -- Officials say a southern white rhinoceros born at a southeast Ohio conservation center is the first fourth-generation member of the threatened species born at the center.

Officials at the Wilds also say they could not find any record of a fourth-generation southern white rhino born in any other North American managed herd.

The calf was born Oct. 31. The southern white, or African rhino, was almost extinct at the turn of the century.

Some were exported to North American and Europe in the 1950s.

Estimated populations grew to more than 11,000 in the wild and 740 in captivity by 2005. The white rhinos can weigh 6,000 pounds and live up to 50 years in captivity.

Their current range in the wild is in southern and eastern African countries.

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