El Paso Zoo welcomes baby pronghorns

EL PASO, Texas -- The El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens is now home to eight baby pronghorns. Zoo officials welcomed the babies, or fawns, Tuesday. The fawns pranced around their exhibit, playing with each other and with zookeepers.

The troop of pronghorns is only one to three weeks old. There are three boys and five girls. They live with their parents in an exhibit in the Zoo's Chihuahuan Desert section.

Pronghorns are an endangered species. Zoo supervisor Natasha Bretz says her priority is making sure the species continues, and the new babies are healthy.

"The eight babies we have are super important because currently, they are the only eight born in the United States, with the exception of one female born at the L.A. Zoo," Bretz adds.

Pronghorns are commonly called the "American Antelope," but they are not antelopes. Their closest relative is a giraffe.

If visitors are interested in getting a look at the new babies, the Zoo says it's best to arrive before 11 a.m.