Page 35 - Bookfield Zoo Chicago Annual Report 2024

The Pitter Patter of TINY HOOVES
The year 2023 was a banner year for births of hoofed animals at Brookfield
Zoo Chicago. On March 28, a female addax calf named Sahara was born
to mother Simone and sire Ishnala. Additionally, on August 8, a male calf
PUERTO RICAN CRESTED TOADS
named Ike was born to mother Ivy and sire Ishnala. These healthy addax The Living Coast (Behind-the-Scenes)
births are a major triumph, as the critically endangered species is at
serious risk of becoming extinct in the wild, with an estimate of less than Puerto Rican Crested Toads
100 individuals remaining in their native Africa.
In October, Brookfield Zoo Chicago sent 4,885 critically endangered
On June 8, a male klipspringer Zola Nyala gave birth to a healthy
Puerto Rican crested toad tadpoles to be released in Puerto Rico, in partner-
calf was born to mother Asali and male calf on August 29 to join a
ship with the Puerto Rican Crested Toad Conservancy. This species is the
sire Yukon. A klipspringer is an female calf born in May to Leah
only toad native to Puerto Rico, and our conservation efforts are helping
African small antelope. The calf Nyala; both were sired by Hamilton.
to bring the population back from the brink of extinction. This year’s cohort
continues to grow and develop. Both calves continue to thrive within
raises the number of tadpoles bred and sent for release by the Zoo to a
the herd in Habitat Africa! The
Reticulated giraffe Arnieta gave total of 25,613 since 2017.
Savannah. Nyala are native to south-
birth to a female calf, Kinda, on
ern Africa and are the most sexually
August 19 (pictured on cover).
dimorphic antelope, meaning the
For more on this calf’s incredible
physical appearance of males and
birth story, read page 7. (Additionally
females is quite different with males
in spring, a juvenile female giraffe,
having long, twisted horns.
2-year-old Asha, arrived at Brookfield
Zoo Chicago from Zoo Miami upon Rounding out the year in ungulate
a recommendation from the Reticu- births was a male red-flanked duiker
lated Giraffe SSP, and she has been calf, born on November 26 to
welcomed into the herd.) mother Beatrice and father Hank.
The species is a small antelope
found in parts of western and
southern Africa. The calf can be
seen along with the rest of the family
in Habitat Africa! The Forest.
2023
NYALA MOST POPULAR
Habitat Africa! ANIMAL ADOPTIONS
RETICULATED GIRAFFE
837
POLAR BEAR RED-FLANKED
477 DUIKER
PENGUIN Habitat Africa!
329
SNOW LEOPARD
312
AMUR LEOPARD
ANNUAL REPORT 2023 285 31