Rhino Calf Debuts at San Diego Zoo

Rhino Calf Charlees enjoys galloping around her new home. CREDIT: Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo Safari Park View full size image

A two-month-old rhino calf at the San Diego Safari Park made her debut this week under blue skies that came out after a rainstorm swept through.

Charlees, whose name is Hindi for Charlie, was born on Jan. 20 to mother Alta. She is the 61st greater one-horned rhino born at the Safari Park since 1975, making the Park the foremost breeding facility in the world for this species.

Charlees's debut, on Tuesday (March 20), was her first chance to explore the 40-acre Asian Savanna habitat, and she spent it running around and meeting the other members of the herd.

Once widespread in Southeast Asia, the greater one-horned rhinoceros now numbers approximately 2,800 and is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.