The Potter Park Zoo in Lansing, Michigan, welcomed a black male rhino calf into the world earlier this week. According to the zoo, this is the first time in its 100-year history that a black rhino has been born.

The mother of the rhino is a 12-year-old black rhino named Doppsee.

“As this is Doppsee’s first pregnancy, the animal care and veterinary staff will continue to monitor Doppsee and her calf closely in the next few weeks,” said Dr. Ronan, the veterinarian at Potter Park Zoo. “But so far, the rhino calf appears healthy and we have observed frequent nursing shortly after the birth, which is encouraging.”

The newborn rhino will not be shown to the public until spring. Until then, he will be bonding with his mother.

Black rhinos are very close to extinction due to habitat loss and illegal poaching. Today, about 5,500 black rhinos are alive in the wild, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). However, this is an improvement after a major drop in their population between 1960 and 1995 where their number was just 2,500.

Rhinos’ only predators are humans, as rhinos have valuable horns.

“This is a monumental moment for Potter Park Zoo that has taken our staff years of planning and hard work” said the director of the zoo, Cynthia Wagner. “We are dedicated to conserving rhinos and couldn’t be more excited about this successful black rhino birth.”

According to the zoo, the newborn black rhino will most likely stay in Michigan until it’s older before it will move to a new facility where he will help improve the black rhino population.

The newborn rhino is doing very well and is quickly becoming a star on the zoo’s social media accounts. The zoo will make sure to keep the public updated on the calf’s progress on social media.