Photos & Video: Brookfield Zoo Welcomes Addax Antelope Calf

By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 20, 2013 8:20PM

The calf is just two hours old in this photo. Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

Here's the 2-hour-old calf with his mother Sara. Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

Here's the 2-hour-old calf with his mother Sara. Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

Here's the 2-hour-old calf with his mother Sara. Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

The calf is much more alert at six days old. Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

The calf is much more alert at six days old. Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

The calf is much more alert at six days old. Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

An addax antelope calf was born at Brookfield Zoo on June 7. The 19-pound male calf was born with little "horn buds" which will begin to grow into horns after a few weeks, which can grow nearly three feet long. Addax antelope are near the brink of extinction in the Sahara deserts with about 300 living in the wild and nearly 200 in North American zoos. Addax get nearly all the moisture they need from the sap of vegetation and from dew, then they store moisture in their body fat, and they go almost their entire lives without drinking water at all.

This calf won't be playing alone for long. Three other addax females are expecting calves this summer.