A new-born rhino has been named Queenie to mark the monarch’s Platinum Jubilee.
Queenie is the fifth baby female baby rhino to be born at the Cotswold Wildlife Park in a row and is the latest in a series of animals to be named after members of the royal family.
Visitors can see the little rhino crashing round her paddock and solar-power house now.
Reggie Heyworth, managing director at the park, said: “All the Rhinos here are named after very special people and I think everyone agrees that 2022 will always be special because of Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
“I thought it might be a bit presumptuous to call our new baby Elizabeth, so I have christened her Queenie instead.
“I think it is a perfect name for a young lady rhino.”
White rhinos were on the verge of extinction in the early 1900s, with around 20 to 50 remaining in their African homeland.
But thanks to years of protection, it is now one of the most common rhino species.
However, Black, Javan, and Sumatran rhino species remain critically endangered.
Queenie is thought to be the first white Rhino born in a UK zoo this year.
Births of the species in captivity are extremely rare, with only 12 born in European zoos in the past year.
Elsewhere at the park, a Bactrian camel, a species thought to be one of the rarest large mammals on earth, was named Louis after the queen’s great-grandson, as the two were born on the same day.
The camel is due to become a father himself soon and his calves will be the first born at the park since 2018.
The park’s royal link doesn’t end there either.
The Queen’s grandson, the Duke of Cambridge, is the patron of conservation charity Tusk Trust, which works with Cotswold Wildlife Park to protect threatened African species.
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