Children hoisted high on shoulders, retirees on morning strolls and hundreds of others at Lincoln Park Zoo chatted in anticipation of seeing a baby rhinoceros’ first public appearance Wednesday morning.

During an exclusive early opening to zoo members and the media, the doors to the enclosure housing Hazina, the zoo’s newest rhino, and her mother, Kapuki, slid open at 9 a.m., but it would take nearly five hours before the nearly 6-week-old calf stepped outdoors for the first time.

But instead of walking out into an adoring limelight, only a handful of zoo workers and passersby witnessed the pivotal moment. By then, the early crowd had dissipated.

But those who stuck around for a few hours before the calf’s inaugural appearance cheered each time they spotted her in the doorway. Hazina cautiously stepped over the threshold, following her mother closely and slipping in the mud as she braved the outdoor habitat. The small audience gasped when it could hear the rhino squealing from inside, hoping she might come out whenever her mother ventured out to graze on lettuce.

Alice St. Clair, 65, played the waiting game longer than anyone else. A Lincoln Park Zoo member for nearly 10 years, she remembers feeling captivated by two baby gorillas born in 2019 and hoped for a similar experience.

Having recently retired from a career in marketing, she said she was grateful she had more time to spend at the zoo than those who had to depart earlier for other obligations. She snapped photos on her Canon camera each time Hazina got close to making her grand entrance.

“It’s just one of those things where you’ve been here so long,” St. Clair said two and half hours into her rhino stake out. “And you can’t cut out now because it just might be that magic moment.”

But alas, Hazina outlasted even her most devoted fan. St. Clair, who traveled from her home in Park Ridge to visit the zoo, left around 20 minutes before the calf finally pranced through the outdoor habitat.

Many of those gathered to catch a glimpse had been monitoring the zoo’s updates about Hazina since she was born on March 19.

Cassy Kutilek, the zoo’s curator of large mammals and carnivores, described the young rhino as “a little bit of a spitfire” who has been acclimating herself to zookeepers and exploring food options.

Hazina is 20-year-old Kapuki’s third calf, and first with Utenzi, a male rhino the zoo acquired from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden in 2022. Hazina’s delayed debut seemed to have run in the family. Her half-brother, Romeo, took four hours to step outside when the zoo introduced him in 2019.

Hazina’s father, Utenzi, came to Lincoln Park as part of the Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan, a program where scientists determine ideal mating partners for endangered rhinos based on various genetic and hormonal factors, Kutilek said. Male and female rhinos living in the wild typically live separately after mating, she said.

In the weeks since Hazina’s birth, the mother and calf have been inseparable and on Wednesday, the baby could be seen trotting swiftly behind her mother and napping indoors while zoogoers waited patiently for her to appear.

Early in the day, Dan Kipper, who lives within walking distance from the zoo, held his two-year-old grandson, Leo, on his shoulders. Sporting a bright yellow rain jacket, the toddler waited in Kipper’s arms for nearly an hour before the pair departed in pursuit of a place to play.

“This is great, just the excitement and being able to introduce him to nature and learn new things,” Kipper said, adding that he taught his grandson the calf’s name translates to “treasured” in Swahili before they arrived.

Nearby, 85-year-old Judy Schwartz waited a couple hours longer. Accompanied by her husband, daughter and daughter-in-law, Schwartz said she has been coming to the zoo for more than two decades. She appreciates opportunities like Wednesday’s where members and their guests can get “behind the scenes” access before others.

Though she departed the zoo before Hazina stepped outside, the Plymouth, Wisconsin, resident was excited by a moment early in the day when the baby looked poised to exit her indoor enclosure before her mother summoned her back.

“Moms are that way,” Schwartz said, glancing back at her own family. “They oughta be protective and make sure everything is okay.”