Watch: Six-foot tall baby giraffe born at West Midlands Safari Park

The male calf was born at a whopping six-foot tall to 12-year-old mum, Arusha, and dad, Rufus, in the early hours on May 29.

After a gestation period of 15 months, West Midlands Safari Park keepers were ready for the birth and prepared the giraffe house floor at the park with sand for a soft landing.

Arusha had her closest companion, Akacia, was also on hand to offer support and welcome the baby, named Mtembei – meaning 'he who roams' – into the world.

The calf is one of four new arrivals to be born at the park in just a fortnight, following the birth of two endangered barasingha fawns in May and a blesbok calf on June 1 – the first in the attraction's history.

Deputy head keeper of ungulates at the West Midlands tourist attraction, Ian Nock, said: "We certainly have been busy this fortnight. We have named the blesbok calf ‘Merlin’ and he is sticking very close to mum, Pebbles, who is proving to be an excellent first-time mother.

"The barasingha fawns can often be seen playing together which is lovely for us all to see.

"Then on the morning of May 29, the keepers and I were all extremely delighted to see that Arusha, our 12-year-old Rothschild’s giraffe, had given birth. This is her fourth calf and incredibly important for giraffe conservation."

Visitors to the park can spot Mtembei the calf in the giraffe yard on the safari as well as out and about meeting his neighbours on the Safari Drive in the next few weeks.

Ian added: "The International Union for Conservation of Nature list giraffe as ’ vulnerable’, as recent years had seen steadily declining numbers across Africa, due to poaching and habitat loss.

"But thanks to conservation breeding programmes in zoos and efforts in the wild to protect remaining populations, numbers have begun to slowly increase.

“Arusha is a very attentive mother, and both are doing perfectly. Once the calf is ready, we shall start introducing mother and calf to the rest of the herd, including dad, Rufus and brother, Kingsley. This important birth increases our herd to 11. It has definitely been something of a baby boom.”

Giraffe, barasingha and blesbok are all part of collaborative breeding programmes between European zoos, aiming to conserve endangered species.