However, these moments are rarely seen. In the last 10 years, only three baby rhinos have been given birth in the semi-wild environment in Vietnam, two of which were born at Vinpearl Safari in the first 17 days of April, 2019.

“It is not difficult to take care for rhinos, but it’s extremely difficult to help them reproduce,” said Nguyen Dinh Cao from Vinpearl Safari Phu Quoc.

Cao said the process of giving birth of the second rhino was more dramatic than the first one. The hearts of the doctors and specialists missed a beat when dealing with so many problems.

“Before giving birth, the mother rhino looked normal. But after giving birth, rapid-fire troubles came,” he recalled.

After several hours of struggle, the baby rhino was born at 10.30 pm on April 20, 2019. However, instead of taking care of the baby, the mother suddenly became aggressive and hit the baby.

“Realizing that the mother rhino panicked from stress during the pregnancy, we immediately drew up measures to protect newborn rhinos,” Cao said.

Luckily, the mother calmed down and it was no longer a danger to the baby. However, more troubles occurred. As the mother was in a state of constant anxiety, it always put the baby in front of her, which made it impossible for the baby to suck.

“After the birth, baby rhinos must find the breast and suck, or it will be dangerous,” explained Bui Phi Hoang from Vinpearl Safari.

Only at 8.30 am the next day did the baby find the breast.

“We cried with happiness,” Cao said, adding that he had never experienced such a feeling before.

Spending many years working at Safari zoos, Cao and Hoang have witnessed births by wild animals in the semi-wild environment many times.

Rare animals such as hippopotamus, white swan, tiger, leopard and antelope, and animals listed in the Red Book, have had safe births at the zoos of the Safari network.

However, scientists affirmed that only good facilities, staff experience, and great efforts can help reproduce wild animals.

Experts said the environment and habitat at Vinpearl Safari is similar to the natural environment in Africa, so rhinos have little difficulty in pairing and mating.

The successful reproduction has raised the total number of rhinos at the safari reserve to 19, according to a local newspaper.

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