Rare Black Baby Rhino Born in Iowa Zoo

— -- A zoo in Iowa is celebrating the recent birth of a rare baby black rhino.

The Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, Iowa, announced the birth of a healthy endangered eastern black rhino today. The zoo's 6-year-old eastern black rhino, Ayana, gave birth to the female, which has not yet been named, on Oct. 11.

Mark Vukovich, the zoo's CEO, said in a statement announcing the birth that "this is an extremely significant event — not only in Blank Park Zoo’s 50-year history but also for this critically endangered animal species.”

A zoo spokesman told ABC News today that the baby rhino is "full of energy" and "very curious" and "always wants to keep up with Mama."

The baby rhino weighed 80 pounds at birth and was standing, walking and attempting to be fed within hours of being born — "all positive signs of a healthy baby rhino calf," a zoo spokesman said in a statement today.

Kevin Drees, the director of animal care and conservation at the zoo, said, "The eastern black rhino is at a tipping point in the wild — meaning that deaths, mostly due to poaching, will soon outnumber births."

“The captive zoo population plays a role in survival of the species, and Blank Park Zoo has partnered with the International Rhino Foundation to secure the species' future," he added, saying he hoped this birth will raise awareness and bring attention to the critical wildlife situation.

The black rhinoceros has two horns and can weigh up to 3,000 pounds, according to the International Rhino Foundation. From 1970 to 1992, the population of wild black rhinos decreased by 96 percent, according to the foundation.