Baby rhino joy at Folly Farm — second ever born in Wales

A rare new arrival

After a 15‑month pregnancy, 12‑year‑old mum Dakima gave birth at 6.34am on Thursday 27 November. Within hours, the calf was standing, following his mother around the enclosure and suckling.

With just 1,471 eastern black rhinos left in the wild and only around 109 in zoos across Europe, every birth is a major boost for the species. Only 39 calves have been born in the UK in the past 25 years.

A family success story

Dakima arrived at Folly Farm in 2017 and was paired with 14‑year‑old male Nkosi. Their first calf, Glyndŵr, made history in 2020 as the first rhino ever born in Wales. He has since moved to another zoo to continue the European breeding programme.

Now, baby number two has made Dakima a mum again — and keepers say she’s proving just as protective and nurturing the second time around.

“A monumental event”

Conservation Officer Jack Gradidge said:

“It’s even more special when it’s such a significant animal and one whose wild cousins are under threat. Dakima was a great mum with Glyn and it’s wonderful to see those instincts again. This is such a monumental event for all the staff here.”

Zoo staff discovered the calf thanks to security cameras when they arrived for work. “The keeper opened up the rhino house and the first thing he saw was the footage of a tiny newborn happily padding about,” Jack explained.

Helping Rhinos partnership

Folly Farm supports conservation projects across the globe, including a new partnership with UK charity Helping Rhinos, which runs a rhino orphanage in South Africa.

CEO Simon Jones said:

“We are absolutely delighted to welcome news of this beautiful eastern black rhino calf at Folly Farm. We are grateful for their support of Helping Rhinos’ efforts, including the care of young calves orphaned by poaching.”

What’s next for the calf

Keepers will monitor mum and baby closely in the coming weeks. Visitors shouldn’t expect to see the calf immediately, but Folly Farm will share updates on social media.

In the wild, calves stay with their mothers for up to four years. After that, this youngster could one day be released into the wild to help boost numbers — or move to another zoo to continue the breeding programme, just like his brother.

Conservation commitment

Folly Farm’s £500,000 Kifaru Reserve opened ten years ago and has become a cornerstone of the zoo’s conservation work. The arrival of a second rhino calf underlines its role in safeguarding one of the world’s most endangered animals.

“It’s exciting to be playing our part in helping to safeguard these amazing animals for future generations,” Jack Gradidge added.

#babyRhino #blackRhino #easternBlackRhino #follyFarm #pembrokeshire #rhino #rhinoCalf #rhinoceros #zoo

Folly Farm penguin keeper crowned Miss Earth Wales 2025

Abigail Wood joined Folly Farm earlier this year as a seasonal penguin keeper, helping to care for their array of vulnerable Humboldt and Macaroni penguins at their Penguin Coast exhibit.

Folly Farm say that Abigail’s passion for environmental issues and commitment to sustainability has been evident already – and aligns with Folly Farm’s own commitment to conservation and sustainable practice. Her determination and hard work have certainly helped her to earn her place as Miss Earth Wales 2025.

Miss Earth Wales is the Welsh entry to the Miss Earth pageant, an international environment event channelling the beauty pageant industry as an effective tool to promote environmental awareness. Abigail will be representing Wales on the international stage at the Miss Earth pageant later this year – with her colleagues rooting for her all the way!

Abigail holds a Master of Science degree in Environmental Biology: Conservation and Resource Management from Swansea University – and is the founder of the ‘Wild About Nature’ initiative, a program dedicated to connecting children with nature and encouraging them to become passionate conservationists and future eco-leaders, including publishing a children’s nature activity book.

Abigail enthused; “My passion for wildlife began from a very young age and my advocacy is a reflection of the hard work that I’ve put into creating my Wild About Nature Activity Book. The book aims to encourage children to embrace nature and inspire the next generation of conservation experts.”

She continued; “I felt immensely proud to have felt that my hard work and dedication to our environment has been noticed. I cannot wait for the sash ceremony at Miss Earth, where I can wear Wales proudly across my chest and represent our beautiful country and advocate for a sustainable future for our wildlife.”

A spokesperson from Folly Farm said: “We wish Abigail the best of luck with the Miss Earth event later this year – what an inspiring young woman and a true role model”.

#conservation #Environment #FollyFarm #MissEarth #MissEarthWales #Pembrokeshire #Penguins

It’s baby number two for critically endangered rhino at Welsh zoo ‘Folly Farm’

Eastern black rhino, Dakima, has been showing signs that she’s expecting baby number two – and the Folly Farm zoo team couldn’t be more excited!

Being solitary animals in the wild, the rhinos usually reside in their own separate paddocks at the Kifaru Reserve enclosure at the Pembrokeshire zoo. But as part of the managed breeding programme for the species, keepers have been allowing Dakima and her mate Nkosi some carefully planned ‘date nights’ – to try for another breeding success story for the happy couple!

So how do you find out a rhino is pregnant you may ask? No, keepers don’t try and get them to wee on a stick (could you imagine?), instead they have to get a bit more scientific and send stool samples to a specialist lab in Chester Zoo to analyse her poo.

The hormone levels tested in the endocrinology lab have indicated an increase in her levels, and along with a steady weight gain over recent weeks – the team are hopeful another calf is on the way. In fact, they predict that she’s already several months into her 15-16 month long gestation period, and that she should be due some time in November.

12-year-old Dakima gave birth to her first calf, ‘Glyndwr’, in January 2020 – just prior to the first lockdown at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. He’s since grown and moved away to fellow animal park, Flamingo Land, in order to continue the breeding programme for this critically endangered species.

In 2015, when the black rhinos first arrived at Folly Farm, there were thought to be fewer than 650 individual eastern black rhinos left in the wild. However, thanks to global conservation efforts, numbers have now doubled with almost 1400 wild rhinos and approximately 85 eastern black rhinos residing in zoos across Europe. 

Alan Keeling, Folly Farm’s Zoo Manager said: “It’s still early days at the moment – but we’re remaining hopeful that we’ll be celebrating another breeding success for this critically endangered species! It’s the ultimate goal working as a zookeeper – to raise awareness of the plights of these amazing animals and play a part in increasing numbers of endangered species in captivity and, eventually, in the wild!”

Dakima did a fantastic job raising her first calf, Glyndwr – named after Folly Farm’s Founding Director, Glyn Williams. The Folly Farm team are hopeful that she’ll do a great job this time around too.

Alan continued, “She seems to be taking everything in her stride so far – and keepers will ensure she’s monitored closely as per usual and given extra comfy bedding to keep her comfortable throughout the remaining months of her pregnancy.”

(Lead image: Folly Farm)

#animals #FollyFarm #Pembrokeshire #Rhino #Zoo

Where there's death, there's life.
#photography #mosstodon #FollyFarm

Glimpses of autumnal beauty, at Folly Farm Nature Reserve - recommended to Bristolians & North Somersetists - a cluttered display of nature.
#photography #autumn #nature #FollyFarm #Bristol #Somerset #mosstodon