Elly is the oldest black rhino in North America.
Zookeepers celebrated Elly’s 45th birthday. That’s old for a rhinoceros! Elly lives at the San Francisco Zoo. She has been there since 1974. In the wild, rhinos live only 16 to 20 years.
The zoo takes good care of Elly. It gave her a cake made of oats and molasses. Her favorite food is beets.
Elly has had 14 calves in her life at the zoo. That’s important. Black rhinos are endangered. Just 50 years ago, more than 200,000 lived in Africa. But now fewer than 5,000 survive. Elly’s calves help keep the species alive.
