大象传媒

Six months on from making her first faltering steps before the eyes of the world, Zuri the baby black rhino is now looking the picture of good health as she meets her adoring public at Paignton Zoo.

Zuri was born at the zoo on 5 March 2007, and she was so fragile that she took five hours to find her feet and another hour to get her first feed from mum, Sita.

But look at her now!

The birth was watched by people all over the world, using the 大象传媒 Devon webcam. Many of her 'fans' make regular visits to see how she is getting on.

She still sticks very closely to mum, but she also has her own personality - and she loves the camera.

One of the mammal keepers responsible for looking after her, Louise McKenna, says Zuri is a real character with a fun personality.

"As soon as she knows someone is watching her or filming her, she tends to start playing up much more. She really does lap up the attention.

"She's very cute and very cheeky and she's quite inquisitive. She likes to come and see what we are up to.

"We can get quite hands on with her now. We're getting her used to being touched around the ears and the face.

"And Zuri seems to like it as well. Sita is still protective, but not so much as before which also helps us to be more hands on."

Health-wise, after that early scare, Zuri is also doing really well. "We can't make any comparisons because we've never had a black rhino calf before, but she seems to be growing well.

"She's really big now - she can only just fit under her mum's udders at the moment. She's eating solids - apples are her new favourite. But she'll still be suckling for another 12 months."

Zuri has helped to boost the zoo's popularity this year. Spokesman Philip Knowling said they were hoping to hit the 500,000 mark by the end of 2007.

"The Zuri effect has been quite noticeable this year, although the good weather at Easter also helped, as has the cloudy but dry days we've had this summer.

"Numbers are up by 30,000 so far - Zuri has played a big part in that."

The best time to see Zuri and Sita is from 10.30am to 1.30pm, when they tend to be out in their paddock.

The zoo is open all year round - visit the website for more details.