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Smithsonian National Zoo welcomes baby lesser kudu

Our panda cub has some competition when the zoo reopens on May 21.

WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian National Zoo has been the talk of the town since baby giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji arrived, but now another adorable baby has arrived.

Keepers at the zoo's Cheetah Conservation Station are celebrating the arrival of a new male lesser kudu calf who was born Mar. 28 to 7-year-old mother Rogue and 10-year-old father Garrett. He's the third for both parents following older brothers Kushukuru and Toba, both born in 2019.

What is a kudu?

According to the National Zoo, the animals are native to arid and semi-arid areas of northeastern Africa, including parts of Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. The lesser kudu are listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Lesser kudu number about 100,000 in the wild, but the population is decreasing due to habitat loss from human and livestock expansion, hunting and disease, the zoo said in a release. 

Animal care staff are allowing Rogue and her calf to bond in a quiet enclosure behind the scenes. Toba was present for the birth and continues to spend evenings with his mother and younger brother. Garret and Kushukuru can see, hear and smell the calf through a mesh window behind the scenes.

Credit: Gil Myers, Smithsonian’s National Zoo
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo welcomed a male lesser kudu calf born Mar. 28 at the Cheetah Conservation Station.

The zoo plans to reopen on May 21, so you'll be able to see the new kudu and his family in person.

Entry is free, but the zoo will require timed-entry passes to monitor capacity limits and to help with social distancing. Passes can be reserved here or on the zoo's website beginning May 14.

RELATED: Smithsonian reopening 7 museums and the National Zoo in May

RELATED: Panda Update | The National Zoo's giant panda cub is learning to climb

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