Taronga Western Plains Zoo has welcomed yet another Addax calf in the last week of spring with a male Addax calf born 27 November 2014.  Addax are critically endangered in the wild so every birth is important to create further genetic diversity in the herd.

The newest calf makes baby number five for mum, Mali who is a very attentive mother to her newborn calf and is displaying all the right maternal behaviours.

The young calf has been hidden in the long grass or behind rocks in the exhibit for the first couple of weeks of its life. This is a natural behaviour that Addax do in the wild to protect their young from predators. The calf will start to mingle more with the herd as it grows and develops.

The Addax is a desert-loving animal that is decreasing in wild populations due to hunting and habitat encroachment from farming and grazing. There is now more Addax found in breeding programs in Zoos and wildlife parks across the globe then in the wild.

This calf signifies a massive success for the Addax breeding program with three calves born in three months, bringing the total number of Addax in the herd to 13.