An adult rhino has been transferred to a new home in Scotland, with a view to producing offspring in the near future.

Female southern white rhino Tswane has arrived at Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling and will join Graham and Dot, both 15, and one year-old calf Bruce in the enclosure.

Tswane is replacing thirteen-year-old female Lucy, who has been moved to a zoo near Paris in a straight swap.

Officials hope that fifteen-year-old Tswane and Graham will produce a calf in the next two years as part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme.

The programme involves captive animals that are at risk of extinction in the wild being matched with fertile mates and encouraged to produce offspring.

The scheme is vital for preserving endangered animals such as rhinos, which are at risk of becoming extinct in the wild by 2026 in line with current levels of poaching and habit destruction.

Chris Lucas, team leader for large mammals at Blair Drummond, stressed the importance in safeguarding the rhino population.

Mr Lucas said: "Both Tswane and Lucy have had issues breeding were they have been before, which we think is probably a compatibility issue with the males.

"The idea is to swap the females around so they can encounter new mates and be encouraged to start breeding and have calves of their own.

"It's very important that zoos in Europe work together to have a sustainable population that's genetically diverse and healthy.

"Currently, rhinos are facing a lot of pressure in the wild, where roughly one every eight hours is being poached for its horns, so if work isn't undertaken to safeguard the species for the future then they could potentially go extinct in as little as 15 years."