WERRIBEE Open Range Zoo is celebrating after receiving a belated Christmas present - a new baby rhino.

The female southern white rhino was born at 4.20am on Saturday to mother Si Si, who is recovering well.

At a healthy 67kg, the calf is receiving round-the-clock care at the zoo’s veterinary hospital, where her first week will be critical.

media_camera The as-yet unnamed baby southern white rhino, born on Saturday to mother Si Si at Werribee Open Range Zoo. Picture: Zoos Victoria, Facebook

Zoo staff will dedicate the next month to feeding and monitoring the calf.

Like her big sister, 18-month-old Kipenzi, the baby will be hand-raised by vets and keepers during the first few months, as mother Si Si has been unable to feed her calves.

The birth is a critical milestone for the southern white rhino, a species under increasing threat from illegal poaching.

Just over 20,000 southern white rhinos remain in the wild, as poaching in South Africa continues to rise.

This year, more than 1000 rhinos were killed in South Africa alone and if poaching continued at these levels, the species could be extinct within 20 years, the zoo said.

“With the number of southern white rhinos plummeting in the wild, this is not only an important birth for Werribee Open Range Zoo but for the species as a whole,” zoo director Sally Lewis said.