Rhino that survived poaching attack and years of recovery, gives birth in South Africa

This handout photo from the Kariega Game Reserve taken Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015 shows rhino poaching survivor Thandi with her newly born calf in the Kariega Game Reserve near Port Elizabeth, in the eastern Cape Province. Thandi, was rescued in March 2012 after poachers hacked off her horn, and left her to bleed to death along with two male rhinos. (AP Photo/Adrian Steirn, Kariega Game Reserve) NO ARCHIVE. (The Associated Press)

JOHANNESBURG – Game reserve managers have announced that a rhino who survived an attack by poachers in South Africa has given birth to a healthy calf.

Reserve representative Bronwen d'Oliveira said Wednesday that the mother and her calf were doing well after the birth on Tuesday morning.

D'Oliveira said the rhino, named Thandi, was rescued in March 2012 after poachers hacked off her horn, and left her to bleed to death along with two male rhinos.

She said Thandi's recovery took nearly three years, including skin graft surgery. The male rhinos did not survive.

D'Oliveira said the reserve was doing everything it could to protect the mother and calf.

More than a thousand rhinos, which are an endangered species, were killed last year in South Africa, according to government statistics.