What's 3000 Pounds And From Chicago? The Oregon Zoo's New Rhino

PORTLAND, OR — So, you're a 3,000 pound, 8 year old in Portland for the first time? So, what do you do? Well, if you're an eastern black rhino, the answer's easy – settle in at the new Rhino Ridge habitat at the Oregon Zoo.

King, who was born in 2013 at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, arrived here on Sept. 10. He moved from the Brookfield Zoo, also in Chicago, where he'd been living since 2016.

Despite all the time in Chicago, it's unlikely he'll be getting any deep dish pizza or Polish sausage during his stay here.

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The zoo says that he's an eastern black rhino, a critically endangered species. The western black rhino rhino was declared extinct in 2011.

"King represents a species that's among the most endangered on the planet," Kelly Gomez, who oversees the rhino habitat for the zoo, says. "Poaching and the illegal wildlife trade have wiped out 96% of the world's black rhino population.

"In South Africa alone, we're losing almost a rhino a day. Hopefully, we can help inspire a new chapter in the conservation of this incredible species."

Gomez says that King has been exploring his new home at the newly-opened Rhino Ridge.

"If he's outside, he’ll be hard to miss,” she says. "So far, he's settling in really well, with a lot of attention and encouragement from his care staff."

For those concerned about King getting lonely, worry not. The zoo says that he'll be joined by a female rhino later this fall.