Zoo Atlanta welcomes one-year-old bontebok

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) - Zoo Atlanta has welcomed a male bontebok to the African Savanna exhibit.

One-year-old Casper comes to Atlanta from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Ohio. Bonteboks are a species of antelope, mostly dark brown in color with white stripes in the middle of their faces and horns that can grow up to 18 inches long.

Bonteboks are one of world conservation’s greatest success stories. Once facing certain extinction, South African farmers brought a small herd of fewer than 20 bonteboks to a national park in 1931. That herd has saved the species, which numbers nearly 2,000 today. Every bontebok currently alive, including Casper, descends from that herd. Wild bonteboks are found exclusively on protected land in South Africa.

Classified as a vulnerable species, bonteboks are especially susceptible to climate change; their reproductive process is heavily reliant on consistent rainfall.

Sightings of Casper won’t be guaranteed for several weeks. He’s slowly being introduced to his mixed-species habitat, which he’ll share with giraffes, zebras and ostriches.