British zoo releases video, photos of rare giraffe baby

Chester Zoo in northwest England released a video and new photos of a rare Rothschild's giraffe baby Thursday.

The week-old giraffe became an online sensation when over 20 million people across the world watched the moment he fell almost two meters onto soft hay during his birth.

Rothschild's giraffes are one of the world's most endangered mammals, with less than 1,600 now remain in the wild.

The calf was named Narus after a valley at the Kidepo National Park in Uganda, where zoo conservationists from Chester are fighting to save the species.

"Giraffe calves get to their feet within minutes of birth, but those long legs can still take a bit of getting used to. He has settled in really well and after his little adventure outside, he seems to have come on leaps and bounds," said Tim Rowlands, curator of mammals at Chester Zoo.

"Narus was only born last week and already more than 20 million people have watched the footage of his birth online, so it's great that he has been able to raise such huge awareness of his species -- which is experiencing a silent extinction in the wild," added Rowlands. Endit