BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Bingo, bango, baby bongo.
Visitors to Brevard Zoo may soon be able to see glimpses of an Eastern bongo calf that was born last week, according to the zoo’s blog.
The male calf was born overnight on Monday, Aug. 5, described as healthy and weighing 46 pounds. Born to parents Clover and Sebastian as part of a Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan breeding program, the calf joins a herd including 2-year-old sister Ginger, 11-month-old brother Rio and 7-month-old half-sister Wubbie, as well as adult females Denver and Amara, the zoo said.
The zoo called the calf’s birth particularly important as a means to safeguard against extinction, adding Eastern bongos are a critically endangered species due to habitat loss and poaching in their native range. According to Florida International University’s Tropical Conservation Institute, tragelaphus eurycerus isaaci is the largest and most endangered of forest antelopes, with fewer than 100 living wild.
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The baby bongo is Clover’s fourth calf with Sebastian and the fifth bongo calf welcomed by the zoo in the last three years, according to the blog post.
For now, Clover and her newest calf are living behind the scenes, yet the zoo said they may soon potentially be visible from the Cape to Cairo Express train, which takes guests through the bongos’ habitat.
Read more on Brevard Zoo’s blog.
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