The world's tallest mammal has been born at Chester Zoo – with the special moment captured live on CCTV cameras.
The leggy newcomer arrived into the world to new mum Orla, with the joyous scene captured by the zoo’s CCTV cameras, at 11:30pm on Tuesday 12 March.
Footage shows the calf falling from a height of six feet onto a bed of soft straw following a 472 day pregnancy and a labour lasting more than three hours.
The youngster can then be seen stumbling to its feet and suckling from mum for the first time – all within just 30 minutes of being born.
Zookeepers are yet to determine if the two-day old is male or female and have said the calf already weighs more than 70kg and stands at 6 foot tall – but will grow to be more than 18 foot tall and weigh 1,000kg.
Conservationists at Chester Zoo have shared their “joy” following the birth of one of the world’s rarest mammals, a critically endangered eastern black rhino.
The female calf was safely delivered onto a bed of soft sand by new mum Zuri on Sunday 12 November at 2:45pm, following a 15-month pregnancy.
Rhino experts say it’s “quite unusual” for a calf to be born in daylight, which gave keepers the unique opportunity to capture the special moment on camera.
Conservationists at Chester Zoo are celebrating the birth of an endangered okapi calf – a rare animal also known as the forest giraffe.
The adorable calf was born to mum K’tusha (10) and dad Stomp (20) on May 12 where she has since been snuggled up in a nest in a behind-the-scenes area at the charity zoo.
Now, at just six weeks old, the leggy newcomer has kicked up her heels and taken her first steps outside, following some gentle encouragement from mum.
Conservationists at Chester Zoo are celebrating the birth of a rare Sulawesi crested macaque monkey – one of the world’s most endangered primates.
The new arrival, who is yet to be sexed or named, was born on 16 May to proud new mum Rumple and dad Mamassa.
In the wild the charismatic primates face numerous threats including habitat loss as a result of deforestation, illegal logging and the expansion of farming land, as well as hunting and the illegal pet trade.
Cub cam! CCTV cameras have captured the FIRST glimpse of rare Sumatran tiger twins born at Chester Zoo
Hidden cameras have captured a first glimpse of two rare Sumatran tiger cubs born at Chester Zoo.
The tiny twins were born to first time parents Kasarna and Dash on 7 January and the new family has since been bonding in their den – with all of their adorable early life antics caught by the zoo’s CCTV cameras.
Conservationists at Chester Zoo become the first in Europe to successfully breed a rare Coquerel’s sifaka lemur.
The precious youngster arrived to parents Beatrice (10) and Elliot (10) – 18 months after the duo were translocated from the USA to Chester Zoo to begin a vital new conservation breeding programme, designed to protect the crtically endangered primates from extinction.
Born with a thick fuzzy white coat and weighing just 119 grams, experts say the baby will cling tightly to mum’s belly for several weeks, before riding on her back like a backpack until around six months old.
A rare tree kangaroo joey – the first to ever be born at Chester Zoo – has emerged from its mum’s pouch for the first time.
Conservationists have caught on camera the remarkable moment the tiny new joey – an endangered Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo – peeked out from mum Kitawa’s pouch.
The birth has been hailed as a “real celebration” for the conservation breeding programme which is working to protect the highly threatened species from extinction - with only two zoos in the UK caring for the animals.
It’s the first time Chester Zoo has bred the species in its 91-year history where, in a bid to discover more about the elusive creatures, conservationists have documented the growth of the joey using a special endoscope camera carefully placed into Kitawa’s pouch every few weeks.
Experts say the data collected could help tree kangaroos, as well as other similar threatened species found in South East Asia, and their plight in the wild.
David White, Team Manager at the zoo, said:
“Kitawa’s joey is the first Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo to ever be born at Chester Zoo in its 91 year-long history, so it’s a real celebratory moment for the team and our efforts to protect this highly endangered species.
“Tree kangaroos have one of the most complex birthing processes in the animal kingdom. When a joey is first born it’s only the size of a jellybean and is incredibly underdeveloped. Moments after the birth, with eyes still tightly closed, the joey knows to instinctively crawl up mum’s belly and into her pouch – following a channel which she has marked out by licking her fur. Once safely in the pouch, the baby receives all of the nutrition it needs while it grows and develops for a further six months – up until it starts to pop its head out.
“With little being known about these shy and elusive creatures, small mammal experts at our conservation zoo are in a unique position to be able to capture and document the whole process around the development of Kitawa’s joey. These observations could be useful to help inform better conservation action for this wonderful, but sadly endangered species, in the wild.
“The new baby will soon emerge from the pouch fully and begin hopping around and learning to climb trees, under the watchful eye of mum. That’s when we’ll be able to determine if it’s male or female and give the youngster a fitting name.”
Much smaller than the well known Australian kangaroo species, the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo is a tree-dwelling marsupial, using their their strong limbs for climbing and tails for balance. The species is native to the mountainous rainforests of Papua New Guinea where they are under threat from hunting and habitat destruction – losing more than half of its population in the last 30 years.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the species as endangered in the wild – with conservationists calling for more close monitoring of the animals in their native range.
Dave added:
“These remarkable animals have suffered tremendously in the wild. They are hunted for their meat and their habitat is disappearing around them as forests are cleared for timber and to make way for coffee and rice plantations.
“Zoo conservationists are working with our partners and local communities in areas of South East Asia to make sustainable farming practices the norm, helping to prevent further deforestation across the region while protecting what’s left of the precious forests – home to many of the world’s most threatened species, like the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo.”
Primate conservationists are celebrating the birth of the world’s rarest chimpanzee at Chester Zoo.
New mum ZeeZee – a critically endangered Western chimpanzee - safely delivered the tiny baby boy following an eight month pregnancy.
Great ape experts at the conservation zoo have revealed that the new male arrival is in good health and has spent the first few weeks of life bonding with mum and the rest of the 22-strong troop.
A new star in stripes… and spots! An endangered Malayan tapir has been born at Chester Zoo – giving an important boost to conservation efforts to protect the species.
A rare Malayan tapir has been born at Chester Zoo in what has been hailed as an “important moment” for the conservation of the endangered species.
The female calf, which has been named Nessa, arrived to parents Margery (10) and Betong (10) in the early hours of Wednesday 30 November, weighing just 9kg. It followed a 13-month-long (391-day) pregnancy.
Chester Zoo is one of just two British zoos currently caring for the Malayan tapir – a species listed as endangered on the International Union of Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species.