The bay Sichuan Takin

SOUTH BEND —There’s baby fever at South Bend’s Potawatomi Zoo.

Zoo officials announced this morning, March 4, the zoo’s Sichuan takin, Mulan, gave birth to a baby girl on Tuesday, March 1. The zoo posted the birth announcement on its Facebook page this morning along with photos of the baby.

The baby, along with mom and brother, Sonam, are on exhibit and can be seen at the zoo’s Winter Day on Saturday, March 5.

The birth is particularly sweet for the zoo since the baby’s father, Kong, passed away from old age last month. Kong fathered four babies with Mulan at the zoo, three of which were sent out to other zoos — Sonam the last remaining in South Bend.

The takin is an antelope-like goat and a little known relative of the musk ox. The Sichuan takin’s native habitat is the dense bamboo forests of China, a habitat it shares with the giant panda, zoo officials said.

Source: South Bend Tribune