Lincoln Park Zoo celebrates World Rhino Day with exciting pregnancy announcement

CHICAGO (WGN) — Lincoln Park Zoo is marking World Rhino Day with big news: Kapuki, a 20-year-old female eastern black rhinoceros, is pregnant.

The calf, expected in early spring 2026, will be her third at Lincoln Park Zoo and first with 21-year-old male Utenzi.

Zoo officials say the pregnancy was confirmed via hormone analysis using noninvasive collection of fecal samples. Eastern black rhinoceroses have a 16-month gestation period and typically give birth to a single calf at a time.

“Every birth matters to this critically endangered species, and we’re proud to play a role in growing the eastern black rhinoceroses’ population,” said Curator Cassy Kutilek. “Kapuki is an experienced mother successfully raising King and Romeo and we’re looking forward to seeing her in this maternal role again soon.”

The birth will contribute to the Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan (SSP), a collaborative population management effort among the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions. The initiative supports population growth and genetic diversity for species at risk of extinction.

Eastern black rhinoceroses are critically endangered, with wild populations dropping by 98% between 1960 and 1995 due to poaching, the zoo said. Thanks to conservation efforts, their numbers have since rebounded to around 5,000 mature individuals in the wild.

When Kapuki’s calf arrives, the Regenstein African Journey will be home to four rhinoceroses, including Kapuki, Utenzi, and a female named Lulu.

At birth, rhino calves weigh about 85 pounds, though adults can reach up to 3,000 pounds and grow as long as 12 feet, the Lincoln Park Zoo said.

Zoo supporters can celebrate the announcement and World Rhino Day by visiting Lincoln Park Zoo’s Wish List to provide leafy treats for the animals or by symbolically Adopting an Animal.

To learn more about eastern black rhinos and the other animals Lincoln Park Zoo, click here.