WILDLIFE enthusiasts will be thrilled to hear that a wild animal belonging to an endangered species will soon receive a visit from the stork at a sanctuary in Furness.

Tala, a southern white rhino (pictured right), is expecting her first calf at South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Dalton.

Since the seven-year-old arrived at the park from a private breeding reserve in South Africa at the end of 2003, she has been inseparable from 11-year-old male Mazungu.

Park director David Gill said: "This will probably be one of the most important births in the whole history of the park.

"White rhinos are such an endangered species and this park prides itself in being at the forefront of conservation all over the world.

"What's more we are awaiting confirmation as we think Ntombi (another white rhino) may also be pregnant - imagine that."

Tala now has up to 16 months of pregnancy to enjoy and endure. Karen Brewer, park education and marketing manager, said she was guaranteed a "lengthy pampering" from the keepers.

The park is home to one other white rhino - 11-year-old male Huubke.

Mrs Brewer said: "The southern white rhino was one of the first kind of rhino to be at the brink of extinction in our lifetime.

"At the start of the 20th century there were perhaps only 30 surviving in the wild. Thanks to careful conservation and international breeding programmes, like the one Tala and Mazungo are involved in, there are today around 11,500 in the wild - but almost all of them live in one single country."