Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo has welcomed a third rare eastern black rhino as the latest addition to their animal family.

Four-year-old female Dakima has joined the two rhinos already at the Pembrokeshire zoo, 18-year-old Manyara and six-year-old Nkosi, to create a breeding herd.

Originally from Chester Zoo, she will make the Kifaru Reserve - a £500,000 five and a half acre, purpose built paddock - her new home, which features a bespoke house that includes four indoor facilities and straw beds for the rhinos to sleep on.

As rhinos are solitary animals in the wild and prefer their own company, the Kifaru Reserve has separate interlinking rooms, allowing them to be moved around easily.

Jack Gradidge, head rhino keeper at Folly Farm, said: “We’ve been looking forward to Dakima’s arrival for quite a while now, as we wanted to make sure that we could move her safely before arranging her journey here.

“Although rhinos generally tend to prefer to live solitary lives in the wild, we’ve put Dakima in an enclosure with Manyara to introduce them to each other, and they’ve become best pals! We’re hoping to put her in with Nkosi once she’s settled into her new home, and in time we hope that they will breed - but that’s still a few years away at the moment.

“There are a lot of new sounds and smells for her to get used to, but so far she’s been very sweet and loves attention. Because she’s still very young, she squeaks when she wants me to take notice of her, just like a baby rhino would do to its mother in the wild.

“At the moment, Dakima weighs around 950kg, and will keep growing until she’s 10-years-old. You can tell she’s still got a lot of growing to do, because she’s got very big feet for such a young rhino.”

An adult black rhino can weigh up to 1.5 tonnes, similar to the weight of a car, and eat lucerne hay, pellets, branches and leaves. Rhinos form dung piles known as middens to mark their territory, and are usually very shy and reclusive animals.

There are thought to be fewer than 650 eastern black rhinos left in the wild and just 88 in zoos across Europe. Folly Farm will be only the seventh zoo in the UK to hold this critically endangered species. The IUCN Red List categorises eastern black rhinos as critically endangered and they will be the 16th species to be on the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme, of which Folly Farm is an active member.

Jack continued: “It’s such a privilege to be able to work with such majestic creatures every day, and it’s so exciting to welcome a third rhino into the family, even though it means there’s more poo to clean up!

“I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world to learn more about these amazing animals - from Indonesia to Australia, and I’m passionate about learning as much as I can from other keepers.

“In April, I ran the London Marathon for Save the Rhino to raise awareness of rhino poaching and their dwindling numbers in the wild. It’s a subject that’s very important to me, and by welcoming Dakima to Folly Farm I hope we can play our part in ensuring the future of the species.”

Folly Farm’s Kifaru Reserve is a flagship exhibit which tells the story of the role of modern zoos in conservation and highlights Folly Farm’s hands-on commitment to conservation through the projects it supports in the wild and closer to home.

The enclosure also raises money for the Rhino Dog Squad appeal by Save the Rhino. The money raised will help train dogs and dog handlers as they play a vital role in protecting rhinos across wildlife conservancies by tracking the scent of rhinos, their horns, guns and ammunition as well as being able to attack poachers in order to disable the gun holding arm.

For further information please visit www.folly-farm.co.uk