Keepers at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park gave five-week-old Rhino calf Shomili, or Mili, as keepers call her, a bottle feeding as part of her daily nutritional routine this morning. Animal care has been giving the Greater One-horned Rhino calf bottle feedings since first time mother Sundari has not been able to give her calf all of the nutrition that she needs.
Sundari is a young mother and her milk is not coming in the way keepers expected. Animal care staff made the decision to give a supplemental bottle feeding twice a day to make sure Shomili gets the nutrition a young, growing Rhino requires.
Safari Park keepers give a little TLC to a Greater One-horned Rhino calf, in the form of a soothing mud bath.
Photo credits: Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo Safari Park
Weighing 128 pounds when she was born December 13, Mili now weighs 245 pounds and is developing right on track, keepers report.
Arnie, a stray cat who became
known for his extraordinary talent as a “babysitter” of abandoned newborn
animals brought to the Linton Zoo, passed
away peacefully last week. Arnie’s favorite
creatures were lion cubs, and he babysat all four of the zoo’s adult lions as
well as some of their cubs.
Photo Credits: Linton Zoo
Arnie wandered onto the zoo
property in 2000 and quickly worked his way into the hearts of the zoo staff. Named after Arnold Schwarzenegger, Arnie
gained fame after photos of him with a lion cub made international headlines. Even after his moments in the spotlight,
Arnie didn’t let fame go to his head. He
continued in his role as a friend to all, greeting zoo guests (especially those
who were carrying tasty treats), controlling pests, and cheering up anyone who
was feeling down.
Linton Zoo staff described
Arnie as a “real live Garfield” whose outstanding personality will be missed by
not only the people who loved him, but by his many animal friends around the
zoo - especially the animals that he babysat over the years. Rest in peace, Arnie.
Two Meerkat
pups born on December 15 at the Taronga
Western Plains Zoo are emerging from the den to explore their surroundings. This is the
fifth litter of pups for their mother, Umi, who keeps a close watch on her adventurous
pups.
Keepers named
the female pup Zola, meaning “love,” and the male Kato, meaning “second born of
twins” in an African language. “The two
Meerkat pups are doing well and Umi is displaying all the right maternal behaviours,
which is great to see,” said zoo keeper Karen Ellis.
Photo Credits: Taronga Zoo
Both Umi and the
father, Maputo, play an important role in rearing the pups. Other members of the Meerkat troop pitch in
to care for and protect the pups as they grow.
The zoo’s Meerkat troop now numbers 11 individuals.
Native to
southern Africa, Meerkats live in large family groups within underground burrows. Members of the group take turns acting as
sentries, standing upright at the burrow entrance to warn others of
threats. When danger approaches, the
sentry barks a warning, alerting the group to seek shelter in the burrow.
A male Sumatran Orangutan infant
born at Zoo Atlanta on January 10 came into the world in an unusual way: he was delivered by Caesarean section with
the help of human obstetricians, neonatologists, and veterinary
anesthesiologists. This Caesarian
section is one of only three to be performed on Sumatran Orangutans in recent
years.
Zoo Atlanta’s animal care staff
planned for this important delivery for months.
The baby’s 16-year-old mother, Blaze, is a small-bodied female, and she
had a previous infant who did not survive the birth process, possibly due to Blaze’s
small size.
Photo Credits: Zoo Atlanta
The Caesarian section was performed
by the Zoo Atlanta Veterinary Team in conjunction with a human obstetrical
team, a veterinary anesthesia team, and a human neonatal team (including a
respiratory therapist, nurse, and neonatal cardiac specialist), all from nearby
hospitals and universities.
"It was an exciting honor to be
included in this team of specialists to help Blaze give birth
successfully," said Sandy Jun, MD, of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. "It was very rewarding to use our
human neonatal skills to deliver this orangutan newborn safely, and we were
glad to find that many of those skills translated seamlessly across species. It
is not something we will forget."
Blaze appears to be recovering
normally from the procedure, and her infant is currently in a nursery unit in
the care of the Zoo Atlanta Veterinary Team and primate care professionals. The
team hopes to reintroduce the infant to Blaze as soon as possible so that the
new mother may begin bonding with her newborn.
“We’re delighted that Blaze’s infant
has arrived safely, and that infant and mother seem to be doing well,” said
Raymond King, President and CEO. “We’re doubly grateful for the support and
participation of such a wide range of outside medical experts, all coming
together with our team to follow an extremely well-executed plan with a superb
level of professionalism and dedication.”
Blaze, who was trained to
participate in voluntary ultrasounds throughout her pregnancy, has been under round-the-clock
observation since her birth window began on January 2.
The infant’s father, 33-year-old
Benny, has been temporarily separated from Blaze but will be reunited with her
and his new offspring soon. Zoo Atlanta is home to the nation’s largest zoological
collection of Orangutans, now with 14 individuals.
Now believed to number fewer than 7,000
in the wild, Sumatran Orangutan populations have declined drastically in recent
years as a result of habitat conversion to palm oil plantations,
over-harvesting of timber, and human encroachment. Without targeted
conservation efforts, experts predict that the species could be extinct in the
wild within 10 years.
Oregon Zoo's Asian Elephant calf Lily is a little over one month old and has been developing into a joyful, energetic little elephant. You may have read about the baby, born November 30, HERE on ZooBorns. Her public debut was on December 14, when, for limited hours, the public could see her sticking close to Mom Rose-Tu. But even then her personality was evident, earning her the description of a 'spitfire' by her keepers.
Since then, she has grown not only in size but in confidence. She is out for longer hours now with the herd and when not napping, can often be seen skipping, rolling around and playing. She totters in a signature way that has been captured in these stills and on the video below. But she knows she can always return to the safety found under the sturdy legs and bellies of the grown ups!
On Christmas day, Warsaw Zoo welcomed this newborn Indian Rhinoceros with great excitement, because he is the first ever rhinoceros born in a Polish zoo. At birth he weighed in at 121.5 pounds (55 kilos) and was named Byś. His parents are Shikari (born in 2006 in
Stuttgart) and Kuba (born in 2004 in Berlin).
In the wild, it's estimated that only about 3000 Indian
Rhinoceros remain. They are among the rarest mammals in the world today. While loss of habitat is a factor, poachers are the largest threat to these animals, who, tragically, hunt and kill them mostly for their horns. Conservation efforts are essential to ensure this species survival.
Andrzej Zielinski, from the zoo's Culture Department, said, "The birth of this rhinoceros is one
of the most important events in the history of Polish zoos."
Photo Credit: Warsaw Zoo/Ewa Ziółkowska
Little Byś will not go into the outdoor habitat until the spring; until then, zoo guest can see him with his mother behind the scenes thanks to indoor cameras and exhibit screens. Here he is at bathtime, which the little one enjoys every day.
Seattle's Woodland
Park Zoo Lion cub quadruplets just turned two months old and that meant it was time for a vet check. Each cub was carried to the exam table by keepers, held just like their mother
would, as that comforting position relaxes them.
Now weighing
in at 21 to 23 pounds (9.5 to 10.4 kg) each, the wriggly babies are getting harder to
handle, so each were anesthetized for a part of this latest checkup. One cub gave a healthy hiss to the immobilizer
mask!
Each of the
cubs has most of their baby teeth, which means they are starting to
sample solid foods like ground turkey and raw beef. Vets noticed that their little tummies felt less full than they did at their last exam, which is likely
because now that they eat some solid foods, they aren’t filling themselves up
on mom’s milk as much as they used to.
Each were measured from head to tail to track their growth. All are on target, a
positive sign that the zoo can start planning for their debut
when outdoor temperatures reach a minimum of 50
degrees. Until then, they’ll continue to live in an off-view maternity den
where they can bond and develop in a more controlled environment.
Photo Credit: Photo 2,3,4,5,6: Kirsten Pisto/Woodland Park Zoo, Photo 1, 7,8: Ryan Hawk
After the
exam, the cubs were soothed by keepers as each woke up. They were then returned
to their mom Adia.
See a video of these babies in action, find more pictures of the cubs and read about the species and conservation efforts to save them after the fold.
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Two little Sloth Bears were born at the Tautphaus Park Zoo in Idaho Falls on November 29. Just about a week before, keepers performed an ultrasound on their pregnant female Sloth and saw a spine and got a heartbeat, so they knew there was one cub. Another ultrasound was planned for the 29th, but when they went to the den to perform it that morning, they saw proud mom Pria holding two cubs: one male, weighing just over a pound, and one female, just under a pound.
Pria has been an excellent mother. She's quite calm when she has had to separate from her cubs in order for them to get their weekly check up. For this Pria is rewarded with LOTS of peanut butter!
Meanwhile the cubs are weighed, checked for developmental milestones and have lots of photos taken to record their progress. And they have been growing beautifully. At three weeks their eyes started to open, and at four, their teeth began to come in. The babies have steadily gained approximately a pound a week, so now, at six weeks old, they weigh just about six pounds each.
There are very few Sloth Bears breeding in North American zoos, so this birth is highly significant. Mom Pria, is 4 years old and arrived from the Sunset Zoo in Kansas in April of 2011. Mick, the father, is 14 years old, and arrived from Little Rock Zoo in Arkansas in April of 2011. This pairing was recommended by the Bear TAG.
The cubs do not have names yet, but the zoo plans to have a local naming contest.
Moxy, The Honolulu Zoo’s female lioness, gave birth to three lively cubs on Saturday evening, December 15. Mammal Specialist Robert Porec said, "The birth went smoothly. The lioness and her cubs will remain in their birthing quarters for the near future."
Although Moxy is proving to be a very good mom, the family is being closely monitored by the zoo's veterinary staff -- and the babies are thriving. Last week, keepers were able to separate Moxy from her cubs so they could clean the pen, weigh the cubs and determine their sex -- a process which mom accepted calmly.
The cubs’ weights were 7.36 lbs. (3.34 kg) for the first born, a female, 8.11 lbs. (3.68 kg) for the male, and 6.92 lbs. (3.14 kg) for the third born, another female. They will receive their first set of vaccinations at 4 weeks of age, then again at 6 and 12 weeks. After completing their inoculations and upon the approval of Dr Ben Okimoto, Zoo Veterinarian, they will be introduced to their exhibit (estimated to be in Mid-March).
Photo Credits: Claire Fukumoto / Honolulu Zoo
These are Transvaal Lions (Panthera leo krugeri), also known as the Southeast Lion, a subspecies named after the Transvaal region in South Africa where they can be found. Ekundu, the father, was born at the San Diego Safari Park in California, and Moxy was born at the Bronx Zoo in New York. The parents are at the Honolulu Zoo on a breeding loan.
Here is a video of the cubs nursing, taken on January 9, from the Zoo's closed circuit camera behind the scenes.
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