A critically endangered addax calf was born at Brookfield Zoo last month, marking the second time in less than a year that an addax has been born at the zoo, according to a spokesperson.
The female calf was born on March 28, marking an exciting and vital addition to the zoo as conservation efforts for the African antelope continue.
According to estimates from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, there may be fewer than 100 addax remaining in the wild across the world.
The calf, now nearly a month old, weighed just over 15 pounds at birth. The calf can be seen with her 6-year-old mother Simone along the 31st Street walkway near the northwest end of the zoo.
Other addax currently at the zoo include a 3-year-old female named Ivy and a male calf named Simon, who was also born to Simone in July 2022.
According to the zoo, there are currently more addax living in professional care facilities in North America than there are in the wild.
Addax were once abundant throughout the Sahara Desert, but now the Termit/Tin Toumma region in Niger is home to the only remaining viable population in the wild.
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In addition to hunting and poaching for meat, horns and hide, oil exploitation has also poised a significant danger to addax living in the wild.
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