The staff from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is celebrating the birth of three male dama gazelle calves. The calves were born between Febraury 18 and Febraury 25. At their 24-hour neonatal exam, the first calf weighed 11 pounds, and both the second and third calves weighed 12 pounds.

With less than 500 left in the wild, dama gazelles are the rarest of all gazelles and are listed as critically endangered. Their population used to range widely across northern Africa, but is now limited to Chad, Mali, and Niger.

SCBI in Front Royal, Virginia focuses on veterinary and reproductive research in order to maintain animal populations, such as the dama gazelle.