Baby Black Rhino's Birth an Internet Sensation

March 7, 2007 — -- She may not have her face on the cover of Vanity Fair, but the baby rhino born Monday night in England's Paignton Zoo is certainly enjoying her first taste of fame.

Suri Cruise notwithstanding, the birth of this rare black rhino has been one of the most eagerly awaited events on the Internet, if figures from BBC Online -- which followed the baby's mother and telecast her birth via webcam -- are any indication.

Upward of 80,000 people downloaded on-demand videos of the baby's 16-year-old mother, Sita, as the date of her birth approached.

Figures for the webcast -- when Sita went into labor and gave birth to a healthy girl within 30 minutes -- are not yet available, but BBC Web producer Kevin Heathorn said he expected them to be in the vicinity of 30,000 or more.

Rare and Even More So

Black rhinos are an exceedingly rare species of rhino. Never too common to begin with, their population declined by 96 percent during the 1970s and 1980s.

Today, there are just more than 3,000 black rhinos, most of which live in east and southern Africa. Paignton Zoo is one of only four zoos in Britain to house black rhinos.

Monday's webcast was the first time a rhino birth was broadcast live across the Internet. It attracted viewers from places as far as Brazil, New Zealand and South Africa.

After the birth, many viewers wrote in to the BBC, saying that the event had moved them to tears.

Dimitri Houtart, the series producer for BBC's "Inside Out South West," which will feature the birth on its Friday program, said that "the enormity of the response has taken us by surprise. Naturally, we were hoping for some level of interest, but we certainly weren't expecting to be on the national news!"

Raising Interest

The heightened interest surrounding this story does not surprise the zoo's staff.

Phil Knowling, a zoo spokesman, said that "the rhino's story has struck a chord with people because pregnancy is something which so many people experience."

He added that the idea for the webcast came about because "the zoo wanted to raise awareness of an endangered species, of what it takes for an endangered species to thrive in a zoo."

But the birth was not without its hiccups. The 80-pound calf initially showed no signs of life, leaving the zoo staff, and the thousands of viewers watching from all over the world, very worried.

Then she blinked, and with that, came a collective sigh of relief from the audience. Six hours later, the baby rhino was on her feet and happily taking her first feed from her exhausted mother.

Zoo staff confirm that both mother and daughter are doing well.

"They are bonding with each other like any other mother and child. They need time together and so far, they are getting along famously," Knowling said.

For the time being, the cameras will continue to record the progress of the newborn rhino. Female rhinos are especially rare because three out of four black rhinos born in captivity are male.

Public interest in this birth won't be waning any time soon. The zoo has asked viewers to write in with suggestions for the baby rhino's name, which her keepers hope will have something of an African influence, so as to reflect the rhino's heritage.