LOOK – Denver Zoo welcomes critically endangered bongo calf
May 12, 2026, 4:15 PM
I often say that all baby animals are cute, but some are way cuter than others, and today I learned baby bongos are EXTTRA CUTE!
The Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance is celebrating a tiny, striped new arrival that carries an outsized importance for her species.
Parents Howard and Fern welcomed a female Eastern bongo calf on May 3, zoo officials announced this week. The calf, who does not yet have a name, is healthy and bonding with her mother.
“Because Eastern bongos are Critically Endangered, every birth is an important step for the future of the species, and we’re thrilled to celebrate this special arrival,” the zoo said in a statement.
Eastern bongos are found only in the mountain forests of central Kenya, where hunting and habitat loss have pushed the striking chestnut-and-white-striped antelope to the brink. Their bold markings, which look almost painted on, evolved to help them vanish into forest shadows — a neat trick for an animal that can weigh up to 900 pounds.
The new calf is the latest addition for the prolific pair. Howard and Fern also welcomed a female calf in July 2025, and a calf named Fiddle was born to the couple in January 2023.
She arrives during what amounts to a baby boom at the City Park zoo. On Mother’s Day, the zoo highlighted a roster of recent arrivals that includes a baby orangutan, bighorn sheep and wallaby, among others.
Zoo officials are encouraging the community to stop by and meet the bongos and their newborn.
