Page 33 - Annual Report 2022
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Addax Calf
Conservationists around the world joined the Chicago Zoological
Society as we celebrated the birth of a male addax antelope calf
last July. The species is critically endangered with an estimated
population of possibly fewer than 100 individuals in the wild.
The addax is adapted to living in the harshest desert environments
of the Sahara Desert. It can go for long periods of time without drinking
water because it gets nearly all the moisture it needs from dew and the
sap of vegetation. Both male and female adults have distinctive spiraling
horns, which can extend nearly 3 feet in older animals.
The pairing of the calf’s parents, Simone and Ishnala, was based
on a recommendation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Addax Species Survival Plan® (SSP). The first addax calf born in the
United States was born at Brookfield Zoo in 1941. Several dozen
organizations worldwide, including the Chicago Zoological Society,
have provided support for the reintroduction of zoo-born addax
into protected reserves.
2022 ANNUAL REPORT 31
