Dama gazelle born at the National Zoo

November 3, 10:08 PMSmithsonian Museum ExaminerCaroline Tung Richmond

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An adult dama gazelle.
Photo courtesy of Ltshears, under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.

On October 1, 2009, the National Zoo welcomed a female dama gazelle into its fold. Weighing ten pounds at birth, the little deer-like animal has been seen nursing and galloping with its mother and sister. The calf is not currently on display, but zookeepers agree she is thriving thus far.

Native to Africa, these gazelles live mostly in the Sahara desert but migrate south to forage for food during the dry season. Unfortunately, the gazelle have been reduced to 500 animals in the wild because of poaching and loss of habit. They have been placed on the Critically Endangered List—which makes the birth of this calf so much more poignant

Although the calf is off-exhibit for now, her father can still be viewed by visitors with the scimitar-horned oryx. The calf—along with its mom and sister—will hopefully join him later in the year.

The National Zoo is open every day except Christmas from 10:00AM to 5:00PM (November through March). The Zoo is easily accessible via the Adams Morgan Metro stop, and admission is free.