Nia the Rhino celebrates 4th Birthday at Living Desert Zoo

It was a day filled with celebration at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert.

Nia the Rhinoceros celebrated her fourth birthday and we were there to capture all the excitement.

Crowds gathered to join the celebration this morning. The crew at the Rhino Savanna created a special cake made of Nia's favorite treats including: watermelon, carrots and lettuce.

Nia has been with the Living Desert Zoo since October of Last year.

Rhino Savanna Supervisor, Lucas Barmeyer tells us, "She'd be at the age where she would have naturally split off from mom in the wild. So she'd kind of be exploring the world on her own for the first time without the comfort of mom or having, you know, a protection. So they're a little more calculated and kind of strategic."

Nia the rhino still has another year of growth left.

She weighs about one thousand pounds less than a fully grown rhinoceros.

Rio shares the Rhino Savanna with another male Rhino, Jaali and the zoo hopes they'll have a larger rhino family in the years to come.