White rhino mother suckling her calf, but is her baby's growing horn a pain in the mammaries?

The bottom line in species conservation is whether the birth rate exceeds the death rate, or not. If more are being born each year than are dying, you know you are winning and the population is recovering. Today's video to #BrightenYourDay, No.97 in the series, is a scene of rhino conservation success - a white rhino mother suckling her calf, being watched by some lucky visitors to Pilansberg National Park in South Africa. This is quite a large calf - mothers begin weaning at about 2 months but will suckle for a year or more - which raises an interesting question: as her baby begins to grow the characteristic keratin nose horn, presumably it becomes more and more uncomfortable to suckle - which might give a further incentive to speed up weaning!
From fewer than 100 at the turn of the 20th century, the Southern White Rhino Ceratotherium simum had been increasing and by 2012 numbered more than 21,000 thanks to effective conservation action. Sadly, poaching has risen in recent years and the latest estimate is about 18,000 - but this estimate was before the #Covid19 #pandemic, during which poaching has soared again. Measures to contain the novel coronavirus have reduced income for conservation from tourism and public donation, and a spike in rhino poaching has been reported in several locations - criminal gangs are not noted for following government instructions to go into lockdown!
For more info on rhinos and their conservation, see: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/4185/45813880
http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/
https://www.savetherhinoinc.com/rhino-information/species/white-rhino/
https://bornfree.org.uk/rhino-horn-trade

Видео White rhino mother suckling her calf, but is her baby's growing horn a pain in the mammaries? канала Ian Redmond