Rare Rothschild's Giraffe is born at Chester Zoo
Cameras at Chester Zoo captured the moment a rare Rothschild's giraffe arrived into the world.
The adorable newcomer, who was born falling more than two metres (6ft) onto a bed of soft straw, arrived to 14-year-old mum, Orla, on Saturday at 2:57am - bringing an end to a 15-month-long (473 days) pregnancy.
The incredible CCTV footage also shows the moment the newborn stands up and takes his very first steps and enjoys his first feed - a moment zookeepers say is "vitally important" for the bond between mum and baby.
Keepers have named the new male calf Stanley after Mount Stanley, the tallest mountain in Uganda in Africa, where the zoo's conservationists are fighting to boost giraffe numbers.
Right across Africa, giraffes are listed as vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) - the world's authority on the state of the natural world. Although Rothschild's giraffe numbers are now increasing due to conservation efforts, fewer than 2,500 remain in East Africa.
Sarah Roffe, Giraffe Team Manager at the zoo, said, "Mum-to-be Orla was stood next to Dagmar, another experienced mum, for the delivery as she readied herself for the final push. Her calf then arrived into the world with quite the bump, causing the rest of the herd to jump to their feet.
"The excitement of a new calf suddenly appearing shortly before 3am certainly gave everyone quite the awakening! This two-metre high fall is a really important part of the birthing process as it's what helps to break the umbilical cord and stimulates the calf to take its very first breath."
