Watch: Zoo rhino birth captured on CCTV
It was a 15-month pregnancy, but when black rhino Ema Elsa decided the time to give birth had come, she was in a bit of a hurry.
The birth of the baby at Chester Zoo was described as a "perfect delivery" by keepers.
And staff even managed to capture the momentous event on CCTV, with images showing the young calf landing safely on deep sand in an encolsure.
The 13-year-old eastern black rhino gave birth to the yet unnamed male calf at just before 11pm on Saturday.
Pictures and video released today show the mother and son calmly standing together following the birth. The birth is important as eastern black rhinos are listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as critically endangered in the wild, with less than 650 now believed to remain across Africa.
Tim Rowlands, curator of mammals at Chester Zoo, said: "The footage picked up by our CCTV cameras gives us a rare glimpse of the momentous event.
"These animals are on the very brink of extinction and our new arrival is hugely important to the conservation of the species. Ema Elsa is an experienced mum. She has given birth twice before at the zoo and this was another perfect delivery.
"It's important now that she and her new calf have some quiet time together to strike up those vital early bonds."
Black rhino populations in Africa are being decimated due to a huge surge in illegal poaching, which has been driven by a global increase in demand for rhino horn to supply the traditional Asian medicine market.
The issue is being fuelled by the high street value of rhino horn, which is currently changing hands for more per gram than both gold and cocaine.
