11-Mar-10 4:00 PM CST

Port Lympne says 'guten tag' to Zawadi the Black Rhino

She may not be much of a looker but staff at Port Lympne wild animal park are getting quite attached to her.

Meet Zawadi, a female black rhino who is a new arrival at the park.

The three-year-old travelled around 630 miles from Berlin Zoo.

Her mother is expecting another baby so it was time for her to leave, just as she would in the wild, and Port Lympne was chosen to be her new home.

Zawadi, whose name means gift in Swahili, will join other young rhinos that have been born at the park.

Paul Beer, who has cared for Port Lympne’s herd of black rhino for 15 years, said: “She seems to have travelled quite well and hopefully she will settle in quickly and mix with our other young rhino.”

Port Lympne has 21 black rhinos, the largest breeding herd outside of Africa. The Aspinall Foundation has bred 30 calves to date, and has successfully returned five back to protected areas of the wild in Africa.

Black rhinos are critically endangered. Numbers have declined by 90 per cent over the last three generations, due mainly to poaching for their horns which are used ornamentally and in traditional Chinese medicine.

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