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All mothers think their children are special, but this rhino cow could be forgiven for thinking that given the fanfare surrounding her calf's arrival.

The baby white rhino was the first born in Spain's Cabárceno Wildlife Park, a 750 hectare landscaped space on the site of a former open-pit mine, since September 1997.

The heartwarming pictures were taken by photographer and musician Marina Cano, from Santander in the Cantabria region of northern Spain.

“He doesn’t have an official name yet, but we call him Red, because all the animals take the colour from the red mud in Cabárceno,” Marina said.

“It was really touching watching him, he was so playful – strong but at the same time he looked so vulnerable,” Marina said.

“Don't ask me why, but just watching him you feel instantly happy!”

The youngster is happily charging around his enclosure’s three hectares of grassland, playing with his mother and another female rhino.

It is notoriously difficult to get rhinos to breed in captivity and 'Red' is eight-year-old mother Zola’s first baby.

The calf was born last month and was discovered the following morning by Jesús Gil, one of the guards at the park.

Marina knows Cabárceno well having published a book of photographs of the park’s wildlife in 2009 and says Red has taken to his surroundings like a duck to water.

“Unlike rhinos in Africa, this little miracle will be safe in the park,” Marina said.

“It’s heartbreaking to know the figures about rhinos killed there.

"I have a special commitment to the planet and its threatened wildlife and I hope my work can touch people’s heart.

"Photographers usually say that they 'capture' images, but for me the opposite is true, animals have captured me.”