The male rhino calf born at Chester Zoo last week (January 19) has made his public debut.

The calf, whose birth was captured on CCTV cameras , has been named Gabe by keepers at the zoo.

The newcomer stepped into the sunshine alongside mum, Ema Elsa, for the first time since being born.

Eastern black rhinos are listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as critically endangered in the wild, with less than 650 remaining across Africa.

Rhino keeper Barbara Dryer said: “It’ll take Gabe some time to get used to his surroundings, but he’s already super-feisty and doing all the right things, sleeping lots, eating well and looks very sturdy on his feet - he’s doing really well so far.

“We hope Gabe brings a lot of attention to the ever-growing need for the conservation of Eastern black rhino populations in Africa that are being slaughtered daily. The criminal gangs aren’t slowing down and in recent years there’s been a huge surge in illegal poaching, driven by the demand for rhino horn in Asia, as it’s ‘believed’ to have medicinal benefits – although scientific research has already proved it to be completely useless.

“For that reason, Gabe is particularly important to the European breeding programme for the species as he will add to the genetic diversity of Eastern black rhinos in zoos across Europe, helping to save the species from extinction in the future.”

Gabe is the third baby born at the zoo to 13-year-old mum, Ema Elsa, who was matched up with dad Kifaru, aged 31, by keepers at the zoo. The calf will now stay by her side for up to two years.

Factfile

Parents

  • Mum Ema Elsa is 13-years-old. She was born on 02/11/2002 and has now had three calves at Chester Zoo – Bashira, Chanua and this latest arrival
  • Dad Kifaru is 31-years-old (born 21/10/1984). He arrived at Chester Zoo in 2014 from Hannover Zoo in Germany. He has now sired four calves with this being his first at Chester Zoo. His other offspring are called Samira, Saya and Taco
  • The latest arrival means that six Eastern black rhino calves have now been born at the zoo in the last seven years
  • Ground-breaking science by a team at Chester Zoo team has contributed to the zoo’s successful black rhino breeding programme. Zoo researchers have spent several years carefully monitoring the hormone levels of their resident female rhinos in a bid to discover the best time to introduce them to a potential partner. These hormone levels are monitored by analysing rhino dung. Tracking hormones gives an insight into what is going on inside the animals. It can help tell things like whether or not an animal is a seasonal breeder, whether it has reached puberty, whether it’s cycling on a regular basis or not and when the optimum time to introduce a male to a female is, as well as diagnose pregnancies and estimate when an animal will give birth
  • The zoo is currently home to 10 critically endangered Eastern black rhinos and three Greater one-horned rhinos
  • The Chester Zoo Black Rhino Programme started in 1999, in partnership with Save the Rhino, providing substantial financial support to Kenya Wildlife Service to enable the translocation of 20 black rhinos to wildlife reserves in the Tsavo region of Kenya