Conservation center: 4th-generation southern white rhino born in southeast Ohio

4th-generation southern white rhino born in Ohio

CUMBERLAND, Ohio — Officials at a southeast Ohio conservation center say a southern white rhinoceros could be the first fourth-generation member of the threatened species born in any other North American managed herd.

Officials at the Wilds in Cumberland, Ohio, say 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.