MEET the latest arrival to the family at Knowsley Safari Park – an endangered white rhino calf – who is yet to be named.

The boy calf was born last weekend to mum Meru and dad Shaka, following a 16-month pregnancy and is an important step towards boosting global numbers of the critically endangered white rhino species.

The 10-stone new arrival is Meru’s eighth calf and joins the other seven white rhino at Knowsley Safari.

There will be a competition launched soon for people to suggest names for the newborn.

Jason Doherty, rhino team leader at Knowsley Safari, said: “Within minutes of being born he took his first wobbly steps.

“He’s a bouncing bundle of joy, who’s been busy exploring his new surroundings.

“It’ll be interesting to see how the dynamic of the crash changes, especially between Meru and her older calf, Nomvula.

“Typically, in the wild, the birth of a new rhino is an event which signifies the natural separation from previous infants and so it’s likely that Meru won’t tolerate Nomvula getting too close to her newborn baby boy.

“It’s not all bad though, white rhino are considered a more social species compared with the other four rhino species and Nomvula can interact with the rest of the crash that she has known since birth.

“Conservation of the species is the cornerstone of everything we do at Knowsley, so this new arrival is especially welcome and has been eagerly awaited by the whole team.

“We are ranked as one of the top white rhino breeding groups in Europe due to our consistent and genetically diverse breeding programme.

“Our latest newborn continues to ensure we proudly maintain this status.”

The white rhino species is critically endangered due to being poached to the brink of extinction for their horns and habitat loss.

Knowsley Safari has an extensive endangered species breeding programme and are committed to doing their bit to save the white rhino from extinction.

As a result, the newborn is the 12th rhino calf to be born to the programme in the last 10 years.

White rhino are one of the most hunted animals in the world, conservation is critical which is why this new arrival is absolutely vital.

According to 2016 figures from Save the Rhino there are only between 19,666 and 21,085 species left.

Despite its endangered status the southern white rhino has fared much better than its northern cousin which was sadly declared extinct in the wild in 2008.