ORLANDO, Fla. — Just ahead of Mother's Day, Disney's Animal Kingdom is celebrating a special first-time mom.
According to a press release, a critically endangered addax was recently born at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.
An addax is a rare species of antelope with a large head and long, spiraling horns. This species of antelope is so rare that Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge is one of the only places in the entire world outside of Africa’s Saharan Desert where they can be seen.
Julien, the new baby addax, is part of a critically endangered species on the brink of extinction. There are less than 100 of the animals still left in the wild.
Julien was born to first-time mom Juniper, whose story defies the odds, according to a Disney press release. She was born two years ago, and her mother died during birthing complications. Now just two years later, she had a calf of her own.
Disney says Julien and mom Juniper have been cuddling and bonding in the backstage area ahead of Julien's debut on the savanna.
"You're going to see a big improvement to traffic flow in this area,"
Nearly $865 million later and the new Howard Frankland bridge is entering its final phase of construction.
