London, British zookeepers welcomed the first birth of a black rhino in Europe this year, and the rare spectacle was captured on camera.

The baby male black rhino was born at Flamingo Land in Kirby Misperton, North Yorkshire, after its mother had a 16-month pregnancy.

The calf, which is yet to be named, is the first eastern black rhinoceros to be born in Yorkshire, and continues the zoo’s conservation work, which has seen two rhinos leave the site to be released into the wild in Africa.

Same DeBelle, Head Keeper at Flamingo Land said that this new baby was long waited for and that both the baby and its mom were in good health.

The birth of this black rhino represents the success of eight years of planning for the zoo’s team and its partners across Europe.

At the moment, there are only approximately 3,000 black rhinos left in the world, with only 85 of them in European zoos.

Source: Oman News Agency