Bronx, NY – Sept. 29, 2017 - The Bronx Zoo has a long, successful history working with and breeding slender-horned gazelles (Gazella leptoceros), and their new home is sure to make this beautiful gazelle a highlight of the zoo’s African Plains exhibit.

The Bronx Zoo’s African Plains is an expansive habitat home to giraffes, zebras, lions, nyala, African wild dogs, spotted hyena, ostrich, Thomson’s gazelles and more. The new exhibit space provides a naturalistic habitat and an up-close view of the endangered gazelles.

The new exhibit features tall grasses, shade trees, and sand – all which are found in the slender-horned gazelles’ native range in arid parts of North Africa including Algeria, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia.

The herd at the Bronx Zoo is made up of one male, 3 adult females, and two calves that were born earlier this year. The exhibit is adjacent to the Grevy’s zebras and Thomson’s gazelles, giving observers a view of multiple African species from one vantage point. Additionally, the young gazelle calves make for a very active experience as they frequently show off their natural speed and agility.

“Slender-horned gazelles are in real trouble in the wild and are threatened by poaching for their meat and horns”, said Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President, Bronx Zoo Director, and General Director of WCS Zoos and Aquariums. “A handful of AZA accredited zoos, including the Bronx Zoo, started a breeding program for the species. Today, there are about 100 living in zoos and we are continuing to work to ensure a future for the species.”

Slender-horned gazelles are classified as Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The species range is highly fragmented and isolated populations across North Africa are contain very small numbers in each location. The total population of wild slender-horned gazelles continues to decline due to poaching and human activity. IUCN estimates that there are only a few hundred remaining in the wild.