Birth of extremely rare white rhino caught on camera

By Lauren Beavis

Amazing footage shows the only white rhino born in the UK this year - with both birth and conception caught on camera.

Markus is the newest addition to the Rhino family at Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens.

He is the twelfth Rhino calf to be born at the Burford site in twelve years, and his birth and conception was caught on film in an extremely "rare" occurrence.

Keepers explained how uncommon it is to catch Rhino births on camera - as females usually give birth during the night.

However, mammal Keeper Liam Klingsick was present the evening Markus was born, and in less than 45 minutes, the sixteen-month pregnancy was over and attentive mother Nancy gave birth to a healthy male calf.

Head Keeper Mark Godwin, who has worked at the Park for 35 years, also witnessed Markus’s entry into the world.

Mark, who has looked after the ever-growing ‘crash’ (the collective noun for a group of Rhinos) for the last 12 years, said that Markus is "one of most confident calves" he has ever seen.

Mark said: "Newborns weigh approximately 70kgs at birth and put on roughly 1.5-2kgs a day in weight.

"If he grows into his features, he will be a big lad”.

The park's team explained how rhino births in captivity are extremely rare - as just five White Rhinos were born in total in European zoological collections in 2025.

Markus's birth brings the total number of Rhinos currently residing at the Park to eight, which keepers say is the highest number on show at any one time in the park's 55-year history.

Mark added: "It is also one of the largest family groups on show anywhere in the country.

"As well as filming the birth, we believe we may have also caught the conception on camera for the first time too.

"A memorable day for keepers and visitors alike as Monty (the father's) amorous intentions lasted some considerable time and attracted quite the crowd!"

Reggie Heyworth, Chairman of Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, said the calf has been named in memory of one of the most influential conservation scientists to have worked in Africa over the last half century: Doctor Markus Borner.

Reggie explained: "Marcus gave me my break into conservation when he was head of Frankfurt Zoological Society in Tanzania.

"It's a long story but basically, he appointed me project leader of FZS’s Tanzania Rhino Conservation Programme in 1992.

"It sounds grand but in fact at the time there was a known population of only 12 Black Rhinos in northern Tanzania and maybe a couple of dozen dotted around the rest of the country, mostly in northern Selous Game Reserve in the southeast of the country.

"So there remained maybe 50 in total in the whole country, from a population of 20,000 in 1970 (roughly estimated). 

"The rest had all been wiped out by poachers in the 1980s.”

Reggie added that by the time Markus died in 2020, Tanzania's Serengeti ecosystem had substantially been re-populated with a potentially viable population of Black Rhinos.

Reggie said: "I'm not the only one who would find it difficult to think of anybody else who had more of a positive influence on that outcome than Markus Borner.

"He was not only a giant of conservation but also my incredibly supportive boss and he became one of my best friends”.

Females rhinos only reproduce every two to three years - meaning the window of opportunity for successful reproduction is limited.

After a gestation period of sixteen to eighteen months, a single calf is born.

This is one of the longest gestation periods of any land mammal, surpassed only by the twenty-two month gestation period of an Elephant.

A newborn Rhino calf will stand up within one hour of birth and immediately attempt to suckle, although he or she may be a little unsteady on their feet for the first few days.

The calf will remain under the watchful eye of its mother, suckling from her for approximately one year.

Keepers explain how their bond is an intensely strong one and the youngster will remain with her for at least two years, benefiting from her protection.

Females guard their offspring aggressively and are intimidating adversaries if challenged.

The team said Markus is proving to be a high-spirited and boisterous addition to the crash.

Over the last ten years, Cotswold Wildlife Park  has raised over £120,000 for Tusk’s conservation work in Africa through various fundraising events.

A spokesperson for the park added: "The White Rhino is living proof of conservation success.

"They were once the rarest subspecies of any Rhino and were on the verge of extinction in the early 1900s, when it is believed that maybe less than fifty animals remained in their native African homeland.

"Thanks to excellent and sustained protection, they are now the most common of the five Rhino species, although poaching in the last five years has once again escalated to serious levels, driven by demand for Rhino horn from the traditional medicine market of China and the Far East.

"Three of the five Rhino species – the Black, Javan and Sumatran – are critically endangered."