Dorothy, or Dot, the Southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) was brought to Blair Drummond Safari Park from a reserve in South Africa in 2003, along with 2 other rhinos called Graham and Jane, to expand the European wide conservation program of this species. They generally don’t breed very well in captivity so every calf born is vitally important to maintaining a sustainable population. Dot, who is 9 years old, is the mother of our calf Mazoomba, or Maz, who was born at Blair Drummond in August 2007 and was a huge hit with staff and customers alike. Dot is now expecting her second calf sometime around mid-December, however with rhino this is not an exact science and our guess could be over a month out. But don’t worry, our head keepers will keep you updated with all the latest developments on the blog which can be found below the webcam images.

Rhino calves are usually born under the cover of darkness, with Maz appearing at sometime between 2 - 5am, so if you hope to catch it live it may be a long night. However a video of the successful birth will be posted on our website for you all to enjoy, if you can’t stay up that late! You may not be able to see the rhino usually between 9 - 11am most mornings as Dot is locked out of her indoor pen so it can be cleaned. If you cannot see her at other times she will be outside in her covered yard enjoying the fresh air. Due to this time of year and the cold temperatures, she will be closed in her indoor pen over night when we are expecting her to give birth, so we don’t risk the health of the new born calf.