Britain Celebrates Birth of Baby Bongo Antelope–with Fewer Than 100 Left on Earth

nnIn an English safari park, keepers are celebrating the arrival of a calf from the world’s most endangered species of antelope, the eastern mountain bongo.nnBorn October 16th, first-time mom Othaya welcomed a male calf in the late afternoon marking the first bongo calf born at Woburn Safari Park in over 10 years.nn

nnIt’s both a major success for the park and global conservation efforts to save this species native to Kenya.nn“Othaya the bongo has successfully given birth to her first calf on Wednesday afternoon. After a long labor, the large healthy male calf was born and was soon seen standing on wobbly legs, in the deep bed of straw prepared for his arrival,” stated Tom Robson, Head of Reserves at the park. “Both mom and calf are doing really well.”nnSonny, the calf’s father, joined the four-strong bongo herd at the park last November and successfully mixed with the females, wasting no time in doing his job and displaying breeding behaviors.nn”The bongo is part of a crucial breeding program and we are hoping in the future our new calf will travel to another wildlife collection and start a breeding group of his own,” Robson added.nnOnce the mom and baby are ready, they will rejoin the rest of the bongo herd in the African Forest exhibit, where visitors will soon have the chance to see the calf in person.nnALSO CHECK OUT: Polish Zoo Celebrates ‘Globally unprecedented’ Birth of 4 Critically-Endangered Sumatran Tigers – (LOOK)nnThe eastern mountain bongo species has been hunted almost to extinction in the wild, and with less than 100 individuals remaining, this birth is hugely important for the future of the species.nnIts near-cousin the lowland bongo is readily dispersed across the Congo region and southern West Africa, and is not endangered. The mountain bongo, with its much deeper red coat, is found only on Mount Kenya.nnMORE ZOOS MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Endangered Baird’s Tapir Calf Born at San Diego Zoo Delights Visitors (LOOK)nnIt has been estimated that without appropriate protections, the eastern mountain bongo may go extinct within 2 decades. However, several Critically Endangered species, like the West African lion, have made recoveries on the continent in recent years.nnWATCH the story below from Africa News… nn[raw] [/raw]nnSHARE This Wonderful News For The Sake Of This Little-Known Species…