The Hamilton Zoo has a new addition to the family as Moesha the white rhinoceros has give birth to a baby boy. Hamilton Zoo Director Stephen Standley says the birth of the calf comes as great news as zoo staff were once concerned she would never reproduce.

Born in April 30 after a 16-month gestation, the calf is the fourth baby rhino to be born at the facility and the sixth ever to be born in New Zealand.

"Moesha arrived at Hamilton Zoo from Kruger National Park in South Africa in October 1999 and while we don't know her exact age, we estimate it to be around 15 years old & Since rhinos are fertile when they are around six to seven, we had very real concerns that she may have missed her chance to be a mum," he says.

"We also monitor our rhino's reproductive cycles so were aware that Moesha had not been in full breeding condition for some time, which further fuelled these concerns." However all this changed when in May 2007 an exchange of adult male white rhinoceroses with the Auckland Zoo brought the 16-year-old Kruger to Hamilton and resulted in pregnancy for the first time parents.

Rhinos were on the verge of extinction in the early 1990s but numbers have since risen from less than 100 to over 11,000 in the wild. The birth is of great significance for the Hamilton Zoo with Samantha Kudeweh, Team Leader of Mammals, coordinating the Australian region's breeding programme for while rhinos.

"The fact that white rhinos are no longer on the endangered species list goes to show just how much of an impact conservation measures can have in ensuring the future of an endangered species. Breeding programmes in zoos are a crucial part of these measures," says Standley. Moesha and her calf are on display to the public for short periods from this week.