Watch: incredible footage shows endangered greater one-horned rhino calf born at Chester Zoo

The birth of an endangered baby rhino was captured on CCTV cameras at Chester Zoo.

15-year-old mum, Asha delivered her newborn calf at 4.24pm on October 14 as zookeepers watched in awe.

The rare greater one-horned rhino was born already weighing around 50kg and is expected to grow to around 1.7 tonnes.

Adorable photos also show the new arrival bonding closely with mum and already sporting the same slightly wrinkled armoured plating as her parents.

The little calf doesn’t have a name yet, but Chester Zoo confirmed that she is infact a girl, as they announced a poll to vote for her name.

The new arrival is incredible as greater one-horned rhinos were once found roaming across the entire northern part of the Indian subcontinent, but are now only present in a small area in India and Nepal.

They are listed as vulnerable to extinction as they battle illegal poaching for their horns and habitat loss.

What did Chester Zoo say?

Keepers waited patiently for the calf’s arrival as greater one-horned rhinos are pregnant for around 15 months.

Sam Harley, Rhino Team Manager at Chester Zoo, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled with Asha and her new arrival.

“It’s been four years since a greater one-horned rhino calf was born here at Chester Zoo and they really are an incredible sight.

“It was a true privilege to witness such a special event.”

Asha’s pregnancy was tracked by the zoo’s onsite endocrinology lab, which monitors the hormones in dung samples to check how a pregnancy is progressing.

John O’Hanlon, Laboratory Technician at Chester Zoo, said: “We’re the only zoo in the UK to have an onsite endocrinology lab, which allows us to track an animal’s hormones and even its pregnancy.

“Performing an ultrasound with an Indian rhino, and that amazingly thick skin isn’t easy, but by collecting and monitoring weekly samples of Asha’s dung, we’re able to track the pregnancy to see how mum and calf are doing.

“Our lab work doesn’t stop there, it also tells us things like when different species come into season and when the right time would be to pair them with a mate.

“We process hundreds of samples a day from zoos all around the UK and Europe, and working with partners in Kenya, we’re building on what we do here at Chester Zoo to support wild rhino populations.

“It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you are contributing to preventing the extinction of so many precious species.”

Keepers have picked three names for the new calf and the public can vote for their favourite.

The final names are Thuli, which is a river in Nepal, Jiya, which is the Indian meaning for sunshine, and Bahula, which is the Indian meaning for star.