ZooBorns

Kiburi the Cheetah Cub Makes Small-screen Debut

Little Kiburi, the San Diego Zoo's newest and devastatingly cutest little Cheetah cub made his video debut today. Typically we would just add this to the previous post about this little tyke, but it's special enough to stand on its own.

Rare Birth of A White-Collared Mangabey Monkey

A male White-collared Mangabey monkey was born at Rome's Bioparco Zoo on November 7th to mother Ashante and father Mongomo. Unfortunately, Ashante was not able to care for the new arrival and keepers discovered him clinging to his maternal grandmother Jasmine. After careful analysis of the possibility to reintegrate the tiny baby with his parents, keepers decided to begin hand rearing the infant until it becomes stable enough to join to the group. Rome's Bioparc participates in the European Program of Captive Breeding for Endangered Species (EEP). The White-collared Mangabey is one of a list of 25 primate species most threatened with extinction in the world due to habitat destruction and poaching.

Photo and video credits: M. Di Giovanni / Archivio Bioparco

10-day-old Cheetah Cub Catches his First Glimpse

Kiburi, a 10-day-old Cheetah cub, opened his eyes today (Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2010)  at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park’s Animal Care Center.  He took in the world, gobbled down a bottle, played for a little while, and then went back fast asleep in the window of the nursery. Safari Park guests can see the 1.4-pound bundle of fur in the nursery’s window. While Kiburi, which means proud in Swahili, sleeps between 20 and 22 hours a day, he gets a bottle of special formula every 2½ hours and also has taken to playing with an adorable ferociousness. At the nursery, Kiburi began “purring from Day 1,” said senior nursery keeper Sandy Craig.

Photo credits: Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo

Cincinnati's Newest Cougar Cubs

Two eight-week-old Cougar cubs are now on display in the Cincinnati Zoo nursery. Born September 17th, the brothers, named “Joseph” and “Tecumseh” will assist the Zoo in educating people about the need to protect these beautiful cats that once roamed throughout much of America. The brothers will soon join the Cat Ambassador Program in the future Night Hunters exhibit.

Photo credits (two top photos): David Jenke

Photo credits (two bottom photos): Connie Lemperie

Give Thanks for Baby Zoo Animals!

Perfect holiday gifts: ZooBorns for All Ages and ZooBorns! for Young Children on Amazon

Miami Zoo Welcomes a Baby Pygmy Hippo

A female Pygmy Hippo was born last week at Zoo Miami.  Her mother is 18 year old “Kelsey,” who was born at the Baton Rouge Zoo and arrived at Zoo Miami in May of 1993. This is her first baby.  The father is 11 year old “Pogo” who was born in the Toronto Zoo and arrived at Zoo Miami in June of 2009. Pygmy hippos are extremely rare and are found in isolated pockets of West Africa, mainly in Liberia, with only a few thousand remaining in the wild.  They are substantially smaller than the more common river hippos, usually weighing between 500 and 700 pounds as opposed to the river hippos which can weigh close to 8,000 pounds.

Photo credits: Ron Magill taken at Zoo Miami

 

Piles of Panda Cubs!

Founded in 1987, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is a Chinese facility that promotes panda research, education and conservation. This facility never removes pandas from the wild. In addition to its education and outreach programs, it serves as a valuable source of unique genetic material, which is invaluable in panda breeding programs around the world. This facility partners with the Smithsonian National Zoo, Atlanta Zoo, and Oakland Zoo among others. These pictures were taken in October and the babies appear to be somewhere between 6-8 weeks old.

Photo credits: giantpandazoo

Rare Rhino Born at the Great Plains Zoo

The Great Plains Zoo is pleased to announce the birth of a rare Eastern Black Rhino calf. The Zoo’s 13-year-old Eastern Black Rhino “Imara” recently gave birth to her second calf, a male weighing 92 pounds. The zoo is inviting the public to help name the calf.  After a 15-month gestation, rhinos give birth to a single calf.  The calf typically weighs between 80-100 pounds. “Black rhinos are on the brink of extinction, so this is a very important birth, not only for the Zoo, but for the survival of the entire Eastern Black Rhino population,” said Elizabeth A. Whealy, President and CEO of the Great Plains Zoo.  “Our Zoo plays a crucial role in maintaining the captive breeding population.”

Photo credits: Great Plains Zoo

Meet Hamish the Baby Bamboo Lemur!

In September we brought you the sad but hopeful story of a little Lesser Bamboo Lemur that had been rejected by its mother and was being hand-reared by keeper Claire at the UK's Banham Zoo. Today we bring you wonderful news that the orphan lemur is doing quite well. Here is an update from the Banham Zoo's Facebook page. "As you can see from the photo [Hamish] is progressing really well and is now living in an offshow pen next to his family during the day. He loves having the extra space to leap and jump around and has a real fondness for bamboo shoots! He only gets four milk feeds a day now and no longer requires night feeds so main carer Claire can now actually get a decent nights sleep! We are introducing fruit and vegetables to him and his favourites so far seem to be peas, mini corn and banana! We are all very pleased with how well he is doing."

Photo credits: Banham Zoo

Jaguar Twins in Tenerife

While one may sport a smooth black coat and the other a scattering of spots, these two adorable Jaguar cubs are in fact siblings; the latest set of twins to arrive at Loro Parque in Tenerife, Spain. Taking after their parents with their strikingly different coats, these inquisitive 4 week old cats are growing in strength day by day thanks to their mother's constant attention. Jaguars are generally tawny yellow with black rosettes, however 6% of this big cat family possess an almost entirely black coat, a trait shared by one of the cubs and mom. A "near threatened" species, the jaguar's numbers in the wild are in decline which is why breeding programs such as those at Loro Parque are key to preserving the population of this majestic feline.

Photo / footage credit: Ulrich Brodde, Loro Parque Tenerife