White Rhino Gestation Period: How Long Is a White Rhino Pregnant?

How long is a white rhinoceros pregnant?

A white rhinoceros carries her calf for an average of 490 days, or about 16 months. Counting from the breeding date, calving is normal anywhere from day 480 to day 500.

Key checkpoints across the 490-day white rhinoceros gestation, measured in days from breeding:

Estimate your white rhinoceros' calving date

Enter the breeding date for an estimated calving date at 490 days.

White rhinoceros gestation stages, month by month

Signs a white rhinoceros is pregnant

• The bull following the cow closely for several days, followed by mating
• No return to heat in the following weeks
• Rising progesterone in faecal hormone tests in managed care
• A gradually broadening abdomen in the second year

Signs of approaching calving

• Udder enlargement and milk in the final weeks
• The cow isolating herself and becoming restless shortly before calving
• Contact your vet if labour stalls, if the animal strains without progress, or if there is abnormal discharge before calving begins.

What affects white rhinoceros gestation length

• A white rhino is pregnant for about 16 months, around 490 days, one of the longest gestations of any land mammal after elephants.
• Females usually give birth to a single calf every two and a half to three years.
• Calves weigh roughly 40 to 65 kg at birth and can stand and follow their mother within hours.
• White rhino calves typically walk in front of their mother, while black rhino calves tend to follow behind. This is a well-known difference between the two species.
• In managed care, pregnancy is usually confirmed and tracked by measuring progesterone in faeces, along with ultrasound in trained animals.
• Because gestation is so long and calves are spaced years apart, rhino populations recover very slowly from poaching losses.

White rhinoceros gestation chart

Every fifth breeding date across the year with the matching calving date, calculated at 490 days. Find the row closest to the date the white rhinoceros was served; because normal gestation spans 480 to 500 days, plan for a window of a few days either side. Filter by month, or print the chart for the barn wall or breeding record: navigation, buttons and adverts are hidden on paper.

Sources for white rhinoceros gestation figures

Figures on this page are drawn from AZA rhino husbandry information, zoo endocrine monitoring studies and field research on southern white rhinos, and checked against the references below. Averages describe healthy animals under normal management; individual animals vary, and nothing here replaces advice from your vet.

• Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) — species husbandry and animal care manuals
• Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute — species fact sheets
• Published zoological studies of captive births