Great Caesar’s ghost! The new baby has a name and it’s Augustus.  Rolling Hills Zoo’s two month old southern white rhino calf, has officially been named “Augustus”, which means “great, magnificent”.  His keepers are already calling him “Gus” or “Auggie” for short.

According to the zoo, over 1,200 people took part in voting for the calf’s new name from a selection of six names via a social media ballot.  Those names included Humphrey – meaning “giant peace” and after Kansas City Chief’s Creed Humphrey; Hank – “ruler of the home”,  Masego – a Tswana name meaning “blessings”, Jabari – from Swahili meaning “brave”, and Panya – from African-Swahili roots, meaning “mouse” – because the rhino calf makes a “squeaking” sound.

Born December 9, 2021, the rhino calf weighed about 125 lbs.  Now, two months later he has doubled in size, weighing about 300 lbs.  When the temperatures are warmer, Augustus is just beginning to venture out to explore the rhino yard.  When he’s not outside, visitors can see the calf during the rhino barn’s visiting hours: 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Friday thru Monday, and 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.  The rhino barn is closed to visitors on Wednesdays.

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Photo by Tanner Colvin