Digger, the Southern White Rhino calf, is now a month old, I know it seems like only yesterday he was fifty kilograms. Mum, Umqali, and he are doing really well. Umqali continues to be an exceptional mother, responding in kind to Digger’s every demand, including being there for him when he kisses the electric fence...for the third time.

Digger is putting weight on rapidly and is starting to show signs of the imposing figure he will cut when he is a fully grown bull. He is learning by copying mum, except for the avoiding fences thing, but that is all part of discovering the world around him.

Digger is incredibly inquisitive and spends his day exploring his enclosure and the objects inside it, like sticks, apparently they are weird and interesting, and rocks, especially when they have been at the bottom of mum’s dung midden.

He continues to practice his mock charging and sparing, which at this point looks more like your textbook head butt, but is all part of becoming a bull rhino, and another member of the regional breeding program team for the Southern White Rhino.

So I urge everyone to come up and say g’day before Digger turns BIG!

Cheers

Tom
Ungulate Keeper, Monarto Zoo