The Chattanooga Zoo is celebrating the arrival of a baby blue duiker.
Early in the morning of May 25, keepers discovered the zoo’s female blue duiker, Poppy, had given birth during the night to her long-awaited calf.
Early visual exams indicate the baby is doing well, the zoo reports.
Blue duikers are a tiny species of antelope found in Africa. Babies weigh only a pound and are about as big as a can of soup. A full grown adult weighs only 10 to 20 pounds.
Blue Duikers are listed in the Species Survival Plan, a population management program that works with AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums to conserve wildlife. The baby’s parents, Poppy and Branch, are an SSP recommended breeding pair.
“It’s always incredible to see the birth of a new zoo resident,” says Lacey Hickle, general curator of the Chattanooga Zoo. “To know the cute face you see represents conservation work being done is both moving and motivating.”
Learn more at chattzoo.org.
Source: Chattanooga Zoo