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Disney World now caring for 3 pregnant white rhinos at Animal Kingdom

Disney made the announcement to celebrate World Rhino Day.
Credit: Disney
On World Rhino Day, Sept. 22, 2020, Disney’s Animal Kingdom announced the pregnancies of three rhinos at the Walt Disney World Resort theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., including Lola (left) and Jao (center). The first calf is expected to arrive in October, followed by the other two in late 2021. All three expectant rhinos were chosen to breed through Species Survival Plans, which are overseen by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to ensure the responsible breeding of endangered species. (Disney)

Tuesday is World Rhino Day, and Disney World celebrated with a special announcement about its resident rhinos.

Disney World is currently caring for not just one, but three pregnant white rhinoceros at its Animal Kingdom park.

It's the first time park "has had this many hooves and horns on the horizon!" Disney said.

Kendi was the first white rhino born at the park in 1999. She's expected to deliver a calf sometime in October. Jao and Lola are also pregnant and are expected to give birth in fall 2021 and soon after that, respectively.

Dugan, the bull of the herd at Disney, is the father of all three calves.

Disney said rhinos' gestation periods last 16-18 months. Rhino calves weigh between 88 and 140 bounds at birth. And, they can stand up within an hour of being born.

These three were chosen to breed through the Species Survival Plans by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. According to the World Wildlife Fund, white rhinos are the second-largest mammal on land.

White rhinos are considered "near threatened," and the majority of the subspecies southern white rhino live in just four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. The other subspecies, the northern white rhino, is near extinction with just two left – both female. These two are protected 24/7 by armed guards in the OI Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, according to WWF.

RELATED: Baby zebra, baby porcupine born during at Disney's Animal Kingdom during closure

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