A baby rhino is on its way to the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Kapuki, a 13-year-old eastern black rhinoceros, is expecting a calf in May, the zoo announced Thursday.
The pregnancy means a lot more than another cute face at the zoo, said Mike Murray, curator of mammals at the zoo.
“A birth represents preservation of a critically endangered species that faces a lot of challenges,” he said. “We remain cautiously optimistic that Kapuki, as an experienced dam, will know just what to do.”
The new calf is not the first born to Kapuki and 33-year-old father, Maku. The pair welcomed their first calf, King, in 2013.
Once fully grown, the calf could weigh up to 3,000 pounds, the zoo said.
Eastern black rhinos are critically endangered because of poaching for their horns, which are believed to have medicinal benefits. But the horns are made of keratin, the same as human hair and nails.
