Busch Gardens' Baby Rhino Is A 'Star'

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s bouncing baby rhino is a star and she has the name to prove it.

Fans of the park’s Facebook page spent the last two weeks voting on a name for the newborn southern white rhino calf. When the votes were tallied, the name “Nyota” came out on top. It means “star” in Swahili.

Nyota, now 1-month-old, and her mother Kasiri have joined the park’s rhinoceros herd, also known as a crash, in the Serengeti Plain habitat.

“Kasiri and Nyota are doing well on the Serengeti Plain,” Jason Green, the park’s assistant curator, reported. “Nyota is exploring her environment and is developing as expected. She is having fun exploring mud holes, fighting with palm fronds and seems to enjoy showing the other rhinos and animals on the Serengeti Plain how tough she is. Nyota is full of energy and curiosity, she loves running around and showing off hers bucks and hops for guests on the train or tour trucks.”

Southern white rhinos are considered near-threatened with just over 20,000 left in the wild, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources reports. To help bolster the number of white rhinos left, Busch Gardens takes part in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan.

To find out more about Busch Gardens, visit the park online. 

Photo courtesy of Busch Gardens