Baby antelope the talk of Taronga

One of the world's rarest antelope species has a healthy new addition at Sydney's Taronga Zoo.

The eastern bongo was born on February 8, the third for mother Djembe and father Ekundu.

Keepers are yet to determine its sex.

"Djembe is a fantastic, protective mother and cleaned the calf as soon as it was born. The calf has already learnt to follow its mother around and was very curious and energetic when exploring its exhibit for the first time," zookeeper Tracy Roberts said on Friday.

"Every birth of a healthy calf is important, with fewer than 100 of these gentle animals left in the wild. Sadly, eastern bongo numbers have collapsed due to poaching, disease and destruction of their native habitat in Kenya's highlands."