ZooBorns

Meet Jasper The Baby Barn Owl

A five-week-old barn owl, named “Jasper,” born on February 16, is being hand raised for the Cincinnati Zoo's outreach program. Jasper came to Cincinnati from the World Bird Sanctuary in Saint Louis, MO. He is spending quality time getting acquainted with Zoo staff because his days will soon include interacting with school children, greeting visitors at the Zoo, and traveling to schools throughout the Tri-state, as an official Zoo Outreach Animal.

   

 

Second That Emu-tion!

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed two Emu chicks on February 5th and 6th. Emu belong in the Ratite Order a diverse group of flightless birds like Ostriches, Rheas, Cassowary and Kiwis.  Dark green in color, Emu eggs are roughly 5 inches long. Busch Gardens keepers were able to know when they were about to hatch by pressing their ears to the shell and listening for the baby emu tapping on the inside.

Photo credit: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Once the keepers realized the babies were soon to hatch, they moved them both to an incubator at the Animal Care Center.  Once hatched, baby Emu are about 5 inches tall and have a unique striping pattern -- in the wild, this camouflages them from predators.

Can This Be Real!?

Photo credit: Safari West

It's a 6-day-old Rainbow Lorikeet and its hatching was announced yesterday by The Safari West Zoo in Santa Rosa, California. Lorikeets are native to Australasia and the brightly colored birds are found in Australia, eastern Indonesia (Maluku and Western New Guinea), Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.

Rainbow Feathered Lovebird Chicks Hatch on Valentine's Day

Love is in the air at the UK's Drusillas Park after four baby Black-cheeked Lovebirds hatched on Valentines Day! The birds are so named due to the obvious devotion between the male and female pairs. They mate for life and preen each other’s feathers -- a labor of love.

In an effort to egg on the romance, Head Keeper Mark Kenward has been playing Cupid over the last 18 months, monitoring the birds’ behavior and making changes to their diet and husbandry. During this time the zoo also enlisted the help of students from St Bede’s School to create bespoke boxes for the birds to nest-le up in. Their efforts finally paid off when zoo keepers made the happy discovery of four tiny tweets at the end of January. 

Mr Kenward said: “We routinely check the nest boxes every Monday and were over the moon to see the chicks within. All of the babies are doing well and we hope they will be the first of many. It’s a real feather in our cap to have bred these beautiful and rare birds, and to receive our special delivery for Valentine’s Day seems a very fitting tribute to lovebirds everywhere.”

These colourful birds are native to Zambia and are Africa’s most endangered parrot.

Photo Credit: Drusillas Park

Learn more about Lovebird breeding after the jump:

Name That Baby Penguin!

Photo credit: Amelia Beamish

Onondoga County Executive Joanne M. Mahoney joined the staff at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo yesterday to announce the earlier-than-usual arrival of the zoo’s Humboldt Penguin Chicks.

"I am pleased to announce that five Penguin chicks have hatched at the zoo this year," said Mahoney. "It’s always exciting when baby chicks are born, and so many in one year is great. We are fortunate to have such a thriving Penguin program and the credit goes to our talented zoo staff."

Two chicks were introduced at a press conference including the first chick of the year, which hatched on January 9 to parents Wylie and Mara as well as the most recent hatchling, which arrived on January 17 to parents Frederico and Poquita. Three other chicks also hatched on January 13 to Mario and Montana, January 14 to Jake and Bianca and January 15 to Phil and Carmen. Over a seven year span, a total of 34 chicks have hatched. 

“It appears our mild winter weather started the breeding season a bit earlier than usual. It’s very exciting to be talking about penguin chicks so early in the year; perhaps it means spring will be arriving soon,” said Ted Fox, Zoo Director. “It’s wonderful that our zoo continues to play an important role in conserving this species. Like the chicks before them, many of this year’s babies will eventually end up at other zoos around the country to continue populating the species.”

Learn about the zoo's naming contest after the jump...

Perth, Australia's Birds of the South-West Baby Boom!

Perth Zoo's Birds of the South-west Aviary is home to Australia native birds including Elegant Parrots, Purple-crowned Lorikeets, Bush Stone-curlews, Splendid Fairy-wrens, Black-winged Stilts, Brush Bronzewings, Red-eared Firetails and Crimson Chats. The first four images are of two Elegant Parrot chicks hatched October 5th and the last three (beneath the fold) are of a Purple-crowned Lorikeet chick hatched October 2nd.

Sleight of Hand Helps Flamingo Moms Rest

On July 13, three Flamingo chicks went on exhibit at Columbus Zoo. In recent years, the zoo has been increasingly successful in breeding Flamingos. Keepers have found that hand rearing chicks makes these typicaly easily spooked birds more manageable in their adulthood. Columbus Zoo lightens the load for Flamingo moms by positioning a wooden decoy egg in the nest after removing the real eggs for incubation. This ensures that the females won't continue to lay, since egg laying is a taxing operation.

Photo credits: COurtesy of H. Misner and Columbus Zoo

Unlike adult Flamingos, chicks hatch covered in a fluffy white down which will remain white or grey during the first two years of their lives. The Flamingo's trade mark pink plummage appears in the second or third year. This trio will be on display for an hour each day (from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.) with the other 32 flamingos in the Zoo's flock. The rest of the time they'll be behind the scenes eating a special formula and getting plenty of sleep.

Cockahoop About Rare Cockatoo Chicks

After 19 years of trying,  Keepers at Chester Zoo in the UK have finally succeeded in the breeding of an extremely rare parrot. These three Philippine Cockatoo chicks are the first to be born at the zoo and are being hand-reared after recently hatching in incubators. The chicks, which look a bit like tiny dinosaurs, are now receiving round-the-clock care in their precious early days - and yes, they are nestled in a Walls ice cream tub!

Andy Woolham, Team Manager of Parrots and Penguins, said, “The species has a very aggressive nature and that makes successful breeding a very rare occurrence. That’s why this is incredibly significant for their conservation."

"We have been trying to persuade them to breed since the first birds arrived at the zoo in 1992, Woolham continued. "During this time there has been a program of dietary and environmental review, which has helped us to make changes to how we look after them and ultimately resulted in this success. It has been a long burning ambition of mine and I just can’t stop smiling! It is so important that a secure safety net population of this species is established in zoos.”

Photo Credit: Chester Zoo

Also known as the Red Vented Cockatoo, the species is critically endangered in the wild due to a combination of illegal trapping for the pet trade and habitat loss.Chester Zoo supports conservation programs for the species in its natural home and works closely with organisations in the Philippines. These efforts have seen numbers increase over recent years but the species still remains under threat.

Trumpeting the Arrival of Little Cygnets

Six Trumpeter Swan cygnets were hatched at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo last week. The largest North American bird, Trumpeter Swans vanished from most of the United Sates over 100 years ago due to over hunting and lead poisoning. In 1996 the Ohio reintroduction program was started by the Ohio Division of Wildlife and the Zoo. The father of these new cygnets was part of this program and all six of these cygnets will eventually be released into the wild.

Rare White Kiwi Chick Born in New Zealand

Earlier this month, the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Center in New Zealand welcomed a rare white Kiwi chick. Named Manukura, the 8 ounce chick exhibits a recessive gene, which makes its hair-like feathers appear white instead of the typical brown color. White Kiwis are rare in the wild. Pukaha Center officials think this may be the first white Kiwi ever born in captivity.

Photo and video credits: Mike Heydon of Jet Photography

The Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Center works to protect and restore native flora and fauna, which includes a Kiwi breeding and reintroduction program. To help contribute to the care of little Manukura, and future Kiwis, consider donating here or at least friend the little bird on Facebook!