It’s a boy! Taronga’s ungulate keepers are proud to announce our new Eastern Bongo calf born on 8 February is a healthy male.

Keepers were unsure of the sex until recently, as we take a largely hands off approach with this beautiful but shy species.

With the sex determined, the calf has been given the name Mshindi, which means ‘Champion’ in Swahili.

Mshindi is the third calf born to mother Djembe and father Ekundu, and is another success for Taronga’s conservation breeding program for this critically endangered species.

The Eastern Bongo is native to the mountainous forest areas of Kenya and there are thought to be fewer than 100 individuals left in the wild.

Taronga Zoo is helping to better understand this species by supporting the Bongo Surveillance Project (BSP), which tracks and monitors these elusive antelope in an attempt to learn more about their movements and population numbers in Kenya.

The BSP also runs Bongo Wildlife Clubs with the communities that border the Bongo’s natural ranges in an effort to engage the local people in Bongo conservation and educate future generations in the hope that these beautiful animals will survive in the wild.

- Ungulate Keeper, Johny Wade