SPRING has sprung and with it comes the patter of tiny feet – or in this case some not so tiny ones.

Giraffes George and Lizzy have welcomed a new arrival to their growing family at Flamingo Land Zoo near Pickering in North Yorkshire.

The yet-to-be-named baby came into the world just days ago, taking the zoos herd of Rothschild giraffes up to seven.

She has already been introduced to the herd and will be making her debut with visitors to the zoo later this week.

The Rothschild herd at Flamingo Land was formed six years ago with the arrival of George and females including Lizzy.

The new calf has one full sibling, a female called Pixie that was born two years ago, and two half-brothers, Rufus, four, and Brad, who is also two.

Rothschild giraffes are a sub-species that are listed as endangered and their population is still decreasing.

The Flamingo Land animals are part of the European Endangered Species Programme. George was born at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire eight years ago and Lizzy was born in Opel Zoo in Germany five years ago.

Visitors will be invited to christen the new arrival in a name-the-baby competition to be held shortly.