Rare footage of the birth of an endangered mammal in a zoo leaves people in awe

Every day brings a new ray of hope to the world of science with wondrous discoveries and inventions. With the critical situation of rare species of animals, birds and other organisms on this earth caused by the inevitable threat of global warming, experts are actively involved in conservation approaches. The best part of these endeavors is the successful scenarios of endangered species preservation are substantially growing all around the world. One such heartening instance happened recently in the Chester Zoo, UK where an endangered species breeding program worked out in nature's favor and IFLScience reported the incredible birth of an adorable baby rhino that was caught on camera.

On November 12th, Zuri, an easter black rhino, delivered a cute little female calf after 15 months of pregnancy. According to the UK-based charity organization, Word Land Trust the eastern black rhinos are the rarest of the black rhino subspecies and their decline was caused due to culling for agriculture and poaching as well. Most of these mammals are conserved under protected areas and some are found in the wilderness of Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania. With the remarkable arrival of Zuri's little one, a new-found hope has risen for the conservation of this species. It absolutely shocked the zoo's conservationists that Zuri gave birth to the calf in broad daylight at 2.45 pm which is extremely rare in the case of rhino births. Chester Zoo announced the arrival of the calf on Instagram with the video of Zuri giving birth and also posted an adorable video of the little one trotting around the area and bonding with her mother.

Emma Evison, Chester Zoo's Rhino Team Manager said to the media channel, "We’d been eagerly awaiting this birth for 15 long months and as it’s quite unusual for a rhino to give birth in daylight hours, we really didn’t expect it to happen right in front of us as we were going about our day," and added, "To be able to witness the calf safely entering the world, in front of our very own eyes, was just the most incredible privilege." She explained, "Sadly this is a species that, for more than a century, has been hunted down and poached for its horn before being sold on the illegal wildlife markets." She further added, "This precious newborn’s arrival is another positive step in safeguarding the species, which is what the endangered species breeding program in European conservation zoos that we’re a leading part of is striving to do. This program has already shown huge success, with a group of rhinos bred in zoos in Europe having been translocated to a protected National Park in Africa."

From the day she was born, the yet-to-be-named little rhino has been inseparable from her mother and is gradually adapting to her surroundings. Putting forward the fact that there are less than 600 animals left in this subspecies in the world, Chester Zoo has been making strenuous efforts to protect rhinos across Africa since 1999. By tracking the hormone levels in the rhino dung in the animal endocrine lab, the zoo has successfully made the birth of Zuri's calf possible. They have also shared these techniques with the Kenyan labs to facilitate more breeding efforts. Mike Jordan, the Director of Animals and Plants at Chester Zoo said, "Zuri and her new arrival is a testament to the unwavering dedication of conservationists here at Chester, and around the world, who are working to safeguard these incredible animals and ensure that they thrive long into the future."