ALAN the rhino is the latest adorable addition to be born at Cotswold Wildlife Park.

The magnificent mammal is the fourth rare white rhino to be born at the West Oxfordshire park in its history.

Alan joined the rest of the rhinos at the park near Burford after being born to Ruby and Monty and by the time he was one week old he already weighed an impressive 11stone.

Cotswold Wildlife Park managing director, Reggie Heyworth, said: “Everyone is overjoyed about the birth of another rhino calf to Ruby, who is being such a good mother, for the second time.

"The calf looks like a strong lad already, and the rest of the rhino 'crash' seem to be taking his arrival in their stride.

"With rhinos facing such poaching pressures in the wild, every birth in captivity is a sign of hope for this wonderful species”.

Alan is named in honour of the park’s electrician who retires this year after 23 years of dedicated service.

The bundle of energy was born on September 13, so is now five weeks old and has got stuck in with the crash and enjoyed his first ever mud bath.

Alan was part of the park's successful rhino breeding programme which, after almost 40 years of hoping their rhinos would breed, has seen four born since 2013.

Female rhinos only reproduce every two-and-a-half to five years, so the window of opportunity for successful reproduction is limited.

After a gestation period of 16 to 18 months, a single calf is born.

This is one of the longest gestation periods of any land mammal, surpassed only by the 22 month gestation period of an elephant.