4-Feb-10 12:00 PM CST

Surprise Rhino Birth Spotted on Webcam

Staff at a Scottish wildlife park were alerted that one of their rhinos had gone into labour by someone watching online in Cyprus.

Staff at a Scottish wildlife park were alerted to one of their rhinos going into labour by a phone call from somebody in Cyprus.

Dot the Southern White Rhino was being watched on a webcam at Blair Drummond’s Safari Park, Stirling by someone watching thousands of miles away when she took workers by surprise.

The quick-thinking animal lover called the park to let them know that the calf was on its way.

Happily, keepers quickly attended to the beast and she gave birth to a healthy 50kg female without any problems.

Staff were caught on the hop because she went into labour in the afternoon which is highly unusual. Normally the animals give birth in the early hours of the morning.

Born in December during the coldest winter in Scotland for the last 30 years, it is only now she has been able to venture out of her highly heated house and into a covered outdoor enclosure.

She now shares the enclosure with her father Graham, sister Mazumba (or Maz), and another 10-year-old unrelated female called Jane.

It will be a few months before she is old enough to mix with the rest of the herd.

Members of the public have been keeping tabs on the rhino’s progress on the webcam since her birth.

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