ZooBorns

Little Quembo the Gorilla Blizzard Baby

On December 20th, just as Europe's massive snowstorms came to an end, little Quembo the Gorilla was born to mother Dian at Frankfurt Zoo. According to Zoo Director, Dr. Manfred Niekisch, Dian is exhibiting all the signs of being a caring mother and Quembo is proving to be a healthy and vibrant baby boy. The other female gorillas in the group are also enjoying the a presence of a new face and have displayed gentle curiosity toward baby Quembo. Western Lowland Gorillas are considered threatened with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to habitat destruction and poaching.

Photo credits: Rob Cam / Second photo Zoo Frankurt

More photos below the fold...

Satanic Gecko - San Diego Zoo's First Birth of 2011

The San Diego Zoo’s first baby of the year looked quite innocent as it crawled on leaves and even one keeper’s finger yesterday afternoon. But because of the horns above its eyes, the reptile is known as a Satanic Leaf-tailed Gecko. The San Diego Zoo is one of only seven zoos in the United States with this species in its collection and one of only two breeding them. This endangered gecko is native only to Madagascar. You can't make it out in these pictures, but the lizard's tail is wide and flat resembling a leaf.

Photo credits: Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo

A Lizard...? An Anteater...? A Pangolin!

Pangolins are nocturnal mammals that spend their nights hunting ants and termites and their days curled up in a ball. While they might look like an armadillo, anteater or even a walking artichoke, these unique animals belong to a family all their own. Only a handful of zoos around the world exhibit Pangolins, which are endangered in the wild, making the December birth of this little Chinese Pangolin at the Taipei Zoo an extremely rare occurrence. The toothless pup was found by zoo staffers last month in a hole its mother made after they tried to move her to a heated room during a cold front.

Photo credits: Taipei Zoo

Reportedly this baby Pangolin spends its days sleeping, drinking milk and climbing on mom's back for the occasional ride. Check out ZooBorns' last Pangolin pup we shared in 2009!

Softly-Softly into the World...

Quiet, slow and shy, Pottos spend their days sleeping in nooks high up in the trees and nights hunting for tasty fruits, tree sap and the occasional sleepy bug. Only three North American zoos exhibit Pottos and only the Cincinnati Zoo has successfully bred this rarely seen primitive primate. In some parts of Africa, the Potto is called a "Softly-Softly," however when the diminutive Potto is threatened, they will jab at enemies with pointy vertebrae on the back of their necks. Distantly related to apes and humans, they are more closely related to other lorises. These photos come to us courtesy of and copyright by the Cincinnati Enquirer. 

Photo credits: The Enquirer / Ernest Coleman