Jabulani, the rock star rhino calf, is making yet more headlines from his home at Werribee Open Range Zoo.
Victoria’s first successfully mother-raised rhino calf in more than 20 years, is now sporting horns.
Zoo savannah keeper Alison Edwards said it was an exciting time for the youngster.
“Rhinos are born without horns but they start to grow as they age,” Ms Edwards said.
“Jabulani’s primary horn was the first one to grow, and throughout the past couple of months the second one has begun to grow too.
“The first thing that happens is the skin gets quite rough and lumpy, then it breaks and it’s like a pimple is erupting!”
Jabulani was born in August 2024 to 15-year-old father Kifaru and 11-year-old mother Kipenzi.
Horns are just one aspect of his substantial growth.
“We estimate that he was born at about 60kgs. Now at a year old, he’s putting on two kilos per day and weighs 730 kilos – that’s the equivalent of a combined 250 domestic cats,” Ms Edwards said.
“But even with that remarkable growth, he’s still staying close by mum and his eight tonnes of rhino family ‘bodyguards’.
A rhino’s horn is made of keratin, which is the same substance as human hair and nails, and just like fingerprints, every rhino’s horn is unique.
In white rhinos, the front horn can reach 1.5 metres long, while the rear grows up to 55 centimetres.
The horns grow continuously like a fingernail, though digging, rubbing and sparring usually prevent it from reaching extreme lengths.
