Photo: MARTIN DIVISEK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
A Czech zoo has a new addition!
“The cub was born on the night of Thursday to Friday, basically exactly one week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” zoo Director Premysl Rabas said, according to a statement on thezoo’s official websitetranslated to English.
He added, “The name is another expression of our support for the Ukrainian heroes.”
Kyiv is “strong and healthy,” and his mother Eva is doing well caring for the calf, the facility shared, adding that thenew additionis one of 14 critically endangered eastern black rhinoceros currently living at the zoo.
The Dvůr Králové Zoo has seen 47 successful eastern black rhino births since its rhino breeding program started in 1971. Nine of the animals have been returned to Rwanda and Tanzania to live in the wild, while others have been moved to different zoos to help maintain the species' genetic diversity.
Petr David Josek/AP/Shutterstock
Only three rhinos of this species have been born in other zoos worldwide in the last year, theAssociated Pressreported.
Around 800 eastern black rhinos are currently living in the wild. The population has been reduced due to poaching, according to the outlet.
Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
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With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyycalled for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
