First Birth of the Year at Pairi Daiza
The birth of a Southern White Rhino is excellent news for this critically endangered species.
2025 begins with tenderness, love, and hope. Pairi Daiza, awarded Best Zoo in Europe in 2024, is delighted to announce the birth of a Southern White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum).
On January 2, 2025, at 1:58 a.m., Eléonore, affectionately called Elie by her caretakers, gave birth to a beautiful female calf in her indoor territory, not far from Joby, the father.
This marks Elie’s fourth calf at Pairi Daiza. She previously gave birth to Kodjo (male) in 2022, Sena (female) in 2019, and Sethemba Vasta (male) in 2016.
The first fragile weeks are crucial for newborn animals. Once again, Elie has proven to be an exceptionally caring and protective mother. These precious moments are being closely monitored by caretakers and veterinarians. Both mother and baby are doing well and are adapting perfectly to their environment. At just six days old, the little calf already weighed 89 kilograms.
For the time being, the mother and her young remain warm inside. Pairi Daiza hopes that, weather permitting, visitors will be able to admire them starting February 8, 2025, the opening day of the new season.
A Birth Full of Hope
In the wild, the Southern White Rhino remains threatened by poaching, still driven by the illegal trade of their horns, and by habitat loss. This subspecies, once nearly extinct, now numbers around 20,000 individuals thanks to conservation efforts.
Pairi Daiza supports the European Breeding Program for Endangered Species (EEP: EAZA Ex-situ Program). This program aims to preserve the genetic heritage of the Southern White Rhino and raise public awareness about the challenges these animals face in the wild.
Pairi Daiza also contributes to the Protection of the Northern White Rhino
The Northern White Rhino is in far greater danger than its Southern cousin. Following the death of the last male of this subspecies in 2018, only two infertile females remain today. Pairi Daiza supports the BioRescue Project, a scientific consortium dedicated to saving the Northern White Rhino through in-vitro fertilization techniques.
Elie herself plays a key role in this hopeful program. In the summer of 2023, Professor Thomas Hildebrandt of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research collected oocytes from Elie to further refine these techniques. On September 24, 2023, Catherine Vancsok, Scientific Director of the Pairi Daiza Foundation, and Alicia Quiévy, Chief Veterinarian at Pairi Daiza, traveled to Kenya for a crucial phase of the research.
These studies, facilitated by the Pairi Daiza Foundation, could ultimately help save this iconic subspecies through the use of Southern White Rhino surrogate mothers.
The successful transfer of a Southern White Rhino embryo to a female in a Kenyan nature reserve now paves the way to safely move on to the next step: the transfer of Northern White Rhino embryos. A dream that could become reality within two to three years.
Video rushes of the newborn
A Vote to choose the Name
The little rhino calf doesn't have a name yet, but will soon be in the spotlight on social media. Pairi Daiza will invite its community to choose a name for her through a poll on the Facebook page.
From February 8th, at the start of the 2025 season, visitors – weather permitting – will be able to admire the little white rhino calf and her family in their territory at the heart of The Land of Origins, one of the nine worlds of Pairi Daiza that brings together the beauty of Africa.
Johan Vreys