Adorable baby Indian rhino follows his mum everywhere she goes after becoming the first member of the endangered species to be born in Australia
- A Greater One-horned Rhino was born at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo
- The endangered rhino's birth was the result of a breeding program
- There are as few as 2,700 Greater One-horned rhinos left in the wild
- Amala and the unnamed calf will remain away from visitors for bonding
An Australian zoo has welcomed the newest addition of an endangered breed of rhinoceros.
The adorable Greater One-horned rhino male calf was born to first time mother Amala in the early hours of October 25, at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo, in the central-north of New South Wales.
Video of the newborn, otherwise known as an Indian rhino, from the zoo shows the calf following his mother and feeding from her.
'It is the first of its kind to be born at the zoo and to be born in Australia,' Taronga Western Plains Zoo Director Matthew Fuller said.
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The unnamed Greater One-horned Rhino was born at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in the early hours of October 25
Amala, the mother, and her calf are reported to be doing well with zoo staff extremely happy with the situation
Although its still early days, Zoo keepers monitoring the mother and her unnamed calf have reported both are doing well.
'Mum's being incredibly maternal and he's seems to be a robust little guy,' Mr Fuller said.
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Unit Supervisor Jennifer Conaghan said that Amala has distanced herself from zoo staff, keeping close to her calf which is what they expected to see.
'We have seen the calf suckling and although it is still only days old, we are extremely happy with the situation so far, and absolutely thrilled to have this new addition on the ground,' Ms Conaghan said.
The Greater One-horned rhino's birth is the first of its species to be born at the zoo and in Australia
Taronga Western Plains Zoo have been heavily involved with rhinoceros conservation world wide
Mr Fuller said the special birth is a credit to the Zoo's Life Sciences team who paired Amala, originally from Los Angeles Zoo, with male Dora from Nagoya Higashiyama Zoo, Japan.
'Every birth is critical, not only does this represent a bolstering of the insurance population that's held globally but it also helps us feed the global bank of knowledge,' Mr Fuller said.
Taronga Western Plains Zoo has been heavily involved in Rhinoceros conservation world wide supporting efforts in Africa, India and Indonesia. There are as few as 2700 Greater One-horned Rhinos left in the wild.
Amala and her calf will remain behind the scenes for a few more weeks to bond, visitors will have their chance to meet the rhino in a month or two.
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