Less than one month after Rome's Bioparco celebrated its 100th anniversary, the zoo has announced the birth of a male calf belonging to an extremely rare species of African antelope, the Addax. The zoo's latest addition weighed five kilos at birth and although the calf was born on 12 January it is only now being glimpsed by the public as it begins to venture out of its enclosure.

The calf is a successful result of the zoo's participation in an international crusade to save the species from extinction, with president of the Bioparco Paolo Giuntarelli describing the birth as an important development in the breeding campaign.

Large numbers of Addax once roamed Africa