Rhino declares: 'That’s not my name!'
Thursday 2 October 2008
"They call him white one, they call him brave, maybe Jabari - that's not his name!"
Just like the Ting Tings in the chart-topping pop song, ZSL Whipsnade’s Zoo’s 55th African white rhino calf is fed up with everyone getting his name wrong.
© ZSL - Christine Drabwell
The two-horned youngster, who is four months old, is dubbed all sorts of nicknames but no one seems to know exactly what he is called.
The youngster was born shortly after the zoo's 54th white rhino calf was born, Jabari, who was already stealing the show in the rhino barn. His name was chosen by newspaper readers in a competition and it means brave in Swahili. So poor old 'no name' gets mixed up and has ended up without a proper title.
The newest rhino was a little shy at first and wouldn’t leave his mother’s side and so while keepers gave him a pet name for easy recognition he’s never had a formal public debut - until now!
So meet Shaka, named after the Zulu king who rose to great prominence in the 18th and 19th century for his intelligence, ambition and tactics on the battlefield and is remembered across the world.
An important name for an important African animal at Whipsnade - just don’t forget it!
