KNOWSLEY Safari park's white rhino calf Jabari has stepped out and about in the venue's grounds for all visitors to see.

Jabari was born in January to mother Meru and father Shaka. He is Meru's eighth calf and will now join the crash of seven white rhino at Knowsley Safari Park in Prescot.

Until now he hasn't been able to be seen on the drive, but now visitors can head and catch a glimpse of the new arrival as weather improves – so on sunny days he will be out and about.

The park has had 20 calves born at Knowsley Safari Park since 1977, making it one of the top white rhino breeding groups in Europe, according to the European White Rhino Stud Book.

Jason Doherty, rhino team leader at Knowsley Safari, said: “Within minutes of being born he took his first wobbly steps and now he’s a bouncing bundle charging around and 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.

"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 our new arrival was especially welcome.

“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.

During the first two months, the baby rhino nursed every 1-1.5hrs for 2 to 5 minutes at a time and can gain on average 4-4.5kg per day in the first fortnight.