Baby rhino born at West Midland Safari Park
A baby rhino has been born at the West Midland Safari Park – the first new arrival in more than a decade.
Six-year-old Ailsa gave birth to the youngster on Good Friday, after a length pregnancy of 16 months.
The baby's father Barney, who was born in 2005, was the last southern white rhino born at the park.
Although the new baby is only a few days old, he already weighs a whopping 67.5kg, but still has lots of growing to do - adult male rhinos are one of the largest land mammals and can reach weights of around 2,500kg.
Within an hour the cute youngster was up on his feet and demanding attention from his doting parents.
Ailsa will have her work cut out for her over the next few weeks, as the newbie needs feeding regularly throughout the day and will stay closely by her side for up to two years.
Southern white rhino are considered a conservation success story, with this particular subspecies being the most common of all the world's rhino species. However, rhinos still face a huge threat in the wild due to habitat loss and more commonly, poaching.
Deputy head keeper of ungulates, Lisa Watkins said: "The calf is absolutely gorgeous and his birth is not only fantastic news for the Park, but also for white rhino conservation.
"The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as 'near threatened' and with rhinos being poached every day for the trade in illegal rhino horn, we hope that our adorable newcomer will help highlight the very real danger the species still faces."
She added: "The baby hasn't got horns yet, but these start to develop straight away and can reach almost a metre when fully grown.
"Both mum and baby are doing brilliantly well and Ailsa is providing all the care we would expect, even though she is a first time mum.
"It doesn't seem that long ago that the calf's dad Barney was out and about, bouncing around the reserves and I'm sure he will be keeping his eyes on him when he makes his public debut onto the reserves, next month."
The not yet named calf is the newest addition to the park's small 'crash' of southern white rhinos, made up of four females and one male.
