We have an amazing news: Jasiri, the black rhino female, who was born at Dvůr Králové Safari Park and transported to Rwanda in 2019, has a calf. This is the culmination of a story that is one of the most beautiful in the history of zoos. When Jasiri was born, she weighed just 17 kg instead of the usual approximately 35 kg. She was so tiny that she could not reach her mother's teats, and the milk for her had to be pumped and fed to Jasiri for more than a week by the keepers under the guidance of curator Jirka Hrubý. Without their patient care she would have died. When she grew up, she was able to suckle on her own and got well enough to be selected for transport to Africa. And now, exactly four years since arriving in Akagera National Park, she has a cub of her own who is thriving in her new environment and all indications are that she is doing well.

Thanks to the collaboration of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), the Rwandan government and African Parks, five critically endangered black rhinos born and bred in Europe made the 6,000 km journey to Akagera National Park in 2019. The historic move began at the Dvur Kralove Safari Park, where all five animals were reunited in November 2018. The five rhinos included three females and two males ranging in age from two to nine years.
Upon arrival in Akagera, the three rhinos from Dvur Králové Safari Park, one from Flamingo Land in the UK and one from Ree Park Safaris in Denmark were first placed in an enclosure with a paddock to acclimatise to their new surroundings. Jasiri, Mandela and Olmoti successfully completed the adaptation process and were released into the park after six months of acclimatisation. The release was gradual and careful, with a dedicated team of trackers closely monitoring their transition to the wild. Over time, the three rhinos have fully adapted to their surroundings and are now behaving like fully wild animals. The birth of the calf of female Jasiri and male Mandela is a real confirmation that the transport of the rhinos to Rwanda was successful.