Nyala baby

We are delighted to announce the arrival of the first calf born to our nyala herd for five years. The little female has been named Diata, and is the youngest offspring of mum Vimbima and dad Tristan. Diata is not likely to be the only calf for long, as we are also expecting two or three of our other breeding females to increase the size of the herd this autumn. Diata has spent the past few weeks with her mum, undertaking her first explorations of the big outdoor enclosure, which the nyalas share with the great white pelicans. She has also been getting to know dad Tristan and the other females in the herd, who all came over to give the new arrival a curious sniff. Nyalas tend to keep their calves hidden after they are born. The young are left to lie in a protected spot for the first few days of their life and aren’t constantly at mother’s side. So if you can’t spot the new calf in the enclosure straight away, take a closer look to see whether she’s hiding somewhere nice and quiet.