Buffalo Zoo's new Indian rhino calf conceived from now-dead Cincinnati rhino's sperm

A nine-day old male Indian rhinoceros stands beside his mother at the zoo in Basel. Cincinnati Zoo says a rhino calf born recently in New York was produced by artificial insemination using sperm from a now-dead Cincinnati rhino. (Reuters)

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Zoo says a female Indian rhino calf born recently in New York was produced by artificial insemination using sperm from a now-dead Cincinnati rhino.

Zoo officials call the calf born June 5 at the Buffalo Zoo a victory for endangered species.

The father was named Jimmy and died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2004. His sperm was frozen, stored and later taken to Buffalo.

The calf's 17-year-old mother is named Tashi. She previously conceived and successfully gave birth through natural breeding in 2004 and 2008. But her mate died, and Buffalo's new male Indian rhino hasn't reached sexual maturity.

Buffalo officials say the calf weighed 144 pounds at birth. They say there are only 59 Indian rhinos in captivity in North America and about 2,500 in the wild.