Endangered antelope born at African Safari Wildlife Park

        African Safari Wildlife Park is celebrating the arrival of a new “big-eared beauty.”
        A male mountain bongo calf was born to mother Maleficent on May 7 and appears to be in great health. Park guests have the opportunity to view the calf daily in the Park’s Drive-Thru Safari.
        The calf was born through the Species Survival Plan, a cooperative conservation breeding program designed to ensure the long-term survival of wildlife in accredited animal care facilities.
        Mountain bongo are large antelope native to montane forests in Kenya, where their oversized ears help them detect would-be predators lurking nearby. Habitat loss and poaching have diminished the wild population to roughly 100 individuals, and the animals are listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
        In 2004, the Park provided logistical and financial support for the translocation of 18 captive-born mountain bongo from North America to Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy for a “rewilding” program. The Conservancy’s population has multiplied to 63 individuals in a semi-wild environment, and a 776-acre sanctuary was established earlier this year in partnership with the Kenyan government.