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\u2019 first public appearance Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
During an exclusive early opening to zoo members and the media, the doors to the enclosure housing Hazina, the zoo\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
But those who stuck around for a few hours before the calf\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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<\/a> born in 2019 and hoped for a similar experience.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just one of those things where you\u2019ve been here so long,\u201d St. Clair said two and half hours into her rhino stake out. \u201cAnd you can\u2019t cut out now because it just might be that magic moment.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Many of those gathered to catch a glimpse had been monitoring the zoo\u2019s updates about Hazina since she was born on March 19.<\/p>\n Cassy Kutilek, the zoo\u2019s curator of large mammals and carnivores, described the young rhino as \u201ca little bit of a spitfire\u201d who has been acclimating herself to zookeepers and exploring food options.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n