TAMPA, Fla. – ZooTampa at Lowry Park has kicked off the new year with a massive win for conservation. On January 9, the zoo welcomed a female Eastern bongo calf—a critically endangered antelope species with fewer than 100 individuals estimated to remain in the wild.
The newborn, standing about two feet tall and tipping the scales at a healthy 38 pounds, marks the zoo’s first animal birth of 2026. Animal care staff report that both the calf and her mother, four-year-old Binti, are healthy and bonding well.
This arrival is the result of careful planning. Binti was paired with the calf’s father, six-year-old Marvin, who arrived from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium in 2023. The match was orchestrated by the Eastern Bongo Species Survival Plan (SSP), a collaborative effort among accredited zoos to maintain genetically diverse populations of imperiled species. This is the fourth bongo calf born at ZooTampa since 2021…