07/03/2026
ZooTampa at Lowry Park is officially celebrating a monumental new addition to its wildlife family! The zoo welcomed a female southern white rhino calf born early on a Sunday morning. This specific birth represents a massive victory for global biodiversity, as southern white rhinos were famously driven to the absolute verge of extinction at the start of the 20th century before undergoing a historic, decades-long conservation recovery.
The healthy female calf has officially been named Kelele, a beautiful Swahili word that translates to both "noise" and "highest peak". While all rhino births are cause for immense celebration, Kelele brought an extra surprise for her keepers. She was born with small, distinct tufts of white hair crowning the tips of her ears. This highly unusual and endearing physical trait has never been documented on any other rhino previously born at the facility.
According to updates from the veterinary team, Kelele entered the world weighing a healthy 80 to 100 pounds. She is meeting all her early developmental milestones and spends her days nursing and bonding closely alongside her mother, Kidogo. Kidogo is an experienced 22-year-old white rhino marking the successful birth of her seventh calf, and staff report that she is being incredibly attentive and protective of her new little one.
This birth was carefully planned and executed under the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding system designed to ensure healthy, genetically diverse populations of imperiled species. With poaching continuing to threaten wild herds in Africa, every single calf represents an invaluable genetic safety net for the future of the species.
