Lincoln Park Zoo has announced that Kapuki, a 20-year-old female eastern black rhinoceros, is pregnant. The birth is expected in early spring 2026. This will be Kapuki’s third calf at the zoo and her first with Utenzi, a 21-year-old male.
The pregnancy was confirmed through hormone analysis using noninvasive fecal sample collection. Eastern black rhinoceroses have a gestation period of about 16 months and typically give birth to one calf at a time.
Curator Cassy Kutilek said, “Every birth matters to this critically endangered species, and we’re proud to play a role in growing the eastern black rhinoceros population. Kapuki is an experienced mother successfully raising King and Romeo and we’re looking forward to seeing her in this maternal role again soon.”
This development is part of the Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan (SSP), which involves cooperation among Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions. The SSP aims to support population management for this species, which saw its numbers decline by 98% between 1960 and 1995 due to poaching. In recent decades, conservation efforts have helped increase their numbers to about 5,000 mature individuals living in the wild.
Lincoln Park Zoo participates in the AZA Saving Animals From Extinction (SAFE) program by working with other accredited zoos on both population management and habitat protection for eastern black rhinoceroses.
Once born, the new calf will join three other rhinos—Kapuki, Utenzi, and Lulu—at Regenstein African Journey within Lincoln Park Zoo. Newborn eastern black rhinos can stand within hours but depend on their mothers for food for up to two years. At birth they weigh about 85 pounds but can grow up to around 3,000 pounds as adults.
Lincoln Park Zoo continues its mission as a not-for-profit organization focused on conservation, animal care, learning, and science since its founding in Chicago in 1868. The zoo remains free and open every day of the year.