ZooBorns

Hesty Makes Her Debut

Little Hesty, the baby Sumatran Orangutan, got off to a rocky start back in June and July as ZooBorns readers might recall. Her mother, Nias, did not nurse her baby properly and Hesty was removed from her mother to be fed by Denver Zoo staff. Fortunately, training efforts with Hesty and Nias on how to nurse properly eventually paid off, and now all is well. Hesty made her public debut this weekend.

Photo credits: Dave Parsons / Denver Zoo

Daizy the Baby Elephant Having a Ball!

Little Daizy was actually born at Albuquerque's Rio Grande Zoo last year, but these adorable pictures just came to our attention so we thought we'd share them. This was the first baby for Daizy's mom, Rozie. The pregnancy was recommended by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan for Asian elephants. Because Rozie has no siblings, she is genetically unique. Her calf adds to the diversity and strength of the North American population of Asian elephants.

Photo Credits: Albuquerque BioPark

Baby Chimp Doing Well at NC Zoo

Early this month, North Carolina Zoo staff made the tough decision to take their new baby chimp in for hand-rearing after it became clear that the baby's first-time mother could not adequately care for her. The baby is healthy and eating well and weighs 3 lbs. 14 oz. She is cared for by staff 24 hours a day and is carried by them most of the time except for brief periods in an incubator. The goal is to get the infant back into the chimpanzee group as soon as possible. She is shown to the chimpanzee group each day for visual socialization.

Photo credits: North Carolina Zoo

Baby Turtle Time in Tennessee

Tennessee Aquarium herpetologists have been quite busy recently. Six red-necked pond turtles, Mauremys nigricans, hatched recently from eggs that were laid in the Asian River exhibit about two months ago. The adults are currently on display in that display. The Tennessee Aquarium is currently the only U.S. zoo working with this species, which is considered endangered in the wild in its native China.

Three yellow-blotched map turtles, Graptemys flavimaculata, also hatched recently. This species is classified as Threatened by the Endangered Species Act. Some of the babies from last year are on display in the nursery tanks in Turtle World gallery.

Newly hatched turtle babies like these still have their egg tooth which they use to break out of the eggshell. It's the white, pointed object in the close-up images below the turtle's nostrils.

Otterly Soaked

Photos taken yesterday by Lolls Marshall at the UK's Blackpool Zoo turn up the dial on one of the most coveted ZooBorns in our lineup: the baby Asian Small-clawed Otter. It might come as a surprise but otter pups don't know how to swim at birth, so mom must pay careful attention to each pup, training it for the aquatic life ahead. These little guys have clearly taken their first plunge although their expressions suggest that they have mixed feelings about being wet.

Mom appears excited about the progress..

Photo Credits: Lolls Marshal

Extremely Rare North African Cheetah Cubs

Just one month old, six little North African Cheetah cubs made their debut yesterday at the ZSL's Whipsnade Zoo. This is the first time that a UK zoo has welcomed cubs of this rare subspecies. There are only believed to be about 250 North African Cheetahs left in the wild and these cubs were planned as part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme (EEP). Do not miss the wonderful video at the bottom.

Name a Penguin Chick in New England!

Since late May, the New England Aquarium has hatched eleven healthy African Penguin chicks in their special "hatching room." Having grown steadily since then, they are now ready for their public debut in the main exhibit.

With so many chicks, they are looking for help naming them. Submit your suggestions between now and Sunday, 8/22. They are looking for names that will build awareness about African Penguin conservation. For example, an older penguin was named Treasure, after the devastating MV Treasure oil spill off the coast of South Africa in 2000. Our suggestions? Pingu McHabitatdestruction or Avon Squawksdale...

Photo credits: New England Aquarium

If any of you ZooBorns readers have your suggestions picked, please let us know, and we'll share the good news on our Facebook page!

Brown Stripes for a Baby Zebra

A Grant’s Zebra was born Saturday, July 31 at the Kansas City Zoo to Mom, Jet, and Dad, Zanthus. She has brown stripes instead of black and weighed in at 79 pounds. Brown stripes are natural among newborn zebras; they will turn to black when she is between 9 and 18 months old. Every zebra has a different pattern of stripes. The stripes help them avoid predator attacks as they make it hard for a zebra hungry hunter to single out one animal from a fleeing herd.

Photo credits: Kansas City Zoo

Meet Yuri the Tiger Cub

Amur Tiger "Anna" gave birth to a male cub in May named Yuri. This is Anna's first cub at the Erie Zoo. Unfortunately Yuri needed to be separated from his mom after he got a cut on his neck from some rough carrying by mom and over grooming. Luckily animal keepers took great care of little Yuri and he is now doing well.

Photo Credits: Erie Zoo

One-Year-Old "Little" Elephant Tips the Scales

Last week at the U.K.'s Twycross Zoo, Ganesh the baby elephant celebrated his first birthday.  Ganesh weighed in at a tremendous 300 kilograms or roughly 660 pounds! The "toddler" shares a birthday with his auntie Tara, who turned 12 on the same day.

Photo Credits: The Twycross Zoo