JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A critically endangered forest antelope has been born at a zoo in Florida.
The Florida Times-Union reports the Eastern bongo weighed 50 pounds (22.7 kilograms) when it was born at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens last month. The zoo says the calf has been cleared to be on exhibit in a spacious mixed-species habitat.
The healthy female calf is the zoo's latest arrival in the Bongo Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program between accredited zoos. A female bongo that was born at the zoo in June was Jacksonville's first since 2011.
Bongos are the largest of the forest antelope and both males and females sport thick, curved horns. Eastern bongos are native to the mountains and tropical forests of sub-Saharan Africa.