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Maryland Zoo welcomes new baby Sitatunga calf

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The Maryland Zoo welcomed its newest addition this September, a new baby! 

Marcus is a sitatunga calf that weighs seventeen pounds and is nice and healthy.

Marcus's mother is four-year-old Mousse and the father is one-year-old Chopper. 

"The baby is nursing well, and Mousse has been very attentive to his needs, which we expected as she is an experienced mother," stated Erin Cantwell, mammal collection and conservation manager at the Zoo. "The two are just beginning to meet others in the herd and explore the outdoor behind-the-scenes area together.  We hope that zoo visitors will able to spot Mousse and Marcus in the sitatunga yard next to the tortoises beginning this week!"

A sitatunga is a species of antelope native to Central Africa. They usually live in semi-aquatic swamps, marshes, and flooded plains. The species are vulnerable to over-hunting and habitat loss, as people are draining and developing swamp land. 

The Maryland Zoo currently has nine sitatunga's, including Marcus.