ZooBorns

Busch Gardens' Baby Aardvark Heads out for a Stroll

Sporting a wrinkly pink birthday-suit (standard issue for a baby Aardvark), Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's newest resident took one of its first outdoor strolls yesterday. The cub, whose sex is still unknown, is the third for prolific mother and father, Izzy and Frtiz. Sister, Adazee, and brother, Zawadi, were both featured on ZooBorns when they were born in March 2012 and April 2011 respectively. The cub is primarily being cared for by its mother but Busch Gardens' staff are also providing a bit of support as adult Aardvarks have a reputation for clumsy parenting. 

Powerful diggers, Aardvarks can slurp up tens of thousands ants or termites in a single night and grow up to 120lbs or more. Follow the cub's progress on Busch Gardens' blog.

Photo credits (above): Adam Lewis / Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

(Below) Matt Marriott / Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Big Sister Aardvark Adazee (more here)

Big Brother Aardvark Zawadi (more here)

Busch Gardens Welcomes Baby White Rhino

On October 23, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed a baby White Rhinoceros. The female Rhino, who has yet to be named, was born at the 26-acre White Rhino habitat on Busch Gardens’ Serengeti Plain. This is the second calf born to mother Kisiri and the seventh for father Tambo. She weighed an estimated 140 pounds at the time of the birth, and will gain approximately four pounds each day until she reaches an adult weight of approximately 3,500 to 4,000 pounds.

Fewer than 15,000 white rhinos remain in the wild, and approximately 200 live in zoological facilities across North America. Busch Gardens participates in the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) to ensure genetic diversification among threatened and endangered animals in zoological facilities.  Busch Gardens has celebrated a total of seven White Rhino births since October 2004, and this birth brings the total white and black rhino population there to eight.

Kisiri, Tambo and another female white rhino were airlifted from Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2001 through the efforts of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF), a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of rhinos. 

Photo Credits: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Meet Louis, the Hungry Little Kangaroo Joey at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

The newest Kangaroo joey at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, was recently named Louis by his keepers. He currently weighs less than 10 pounds and spends most of his day in the pouch of his mother, Lulu. When he becomes confident enough to spend the majority of his day outside of the pouch, he will join the kangaroo mob at Walkabout Way. These babies are all currently being raised by their parents in private areas and they will soon be welcomed to guest viewing areas around the park.

Kangaroo babies are "born" months before they look like this. After a gestation of only 30-35 days in a hairless, underdeveloped state and find their way into mom's pouch where they continue to grow and nurse for about 10 months before they begin to leave it's safety for short periods. They may hop out but return there until they are fully weaned - at about 13 months.  

Photo Credit:Busch Gardens

Baby Armadillo the Size of a Tennis Ball

Look what just rolled into Busch Gardens Tampa - a tiny Three Banded Armadillo born to proud armadillo parents Zowie and Ollie. Born June 21, the baby was the size of a golf ball, now a month later he has grown to be the size of a tennis ball. When full grown adult Three Banded Armadillo’s are roughly the size of a softball. The youngster can be seen in Jambo Junction. 

Below: Baby and mom, Zowie, enjoy some outdoor romping in the grass. 

Some fun armadillo facts courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa.

• The gestation period for a Three Banded Armadillo is just 120 days!

• The young will nurse for about 72 days before being weaned.

• Baby armadillos are born blind but quickly develop the ability to walk and close their shell.

• After 72 days baby armadillos are no longer dependent on mom and will go out on their own.

Hang On! It's a New Baby Anteater for Busch Gardens

A baby Anteater was born in June at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. Keepers are not yet sure if the little one is male or female but once they are able to identify the gender, it will be named. Just over a month old, the pup currently weighs less than 5 pounds (2.26 kg) but will grow up to weigh more than 100 pounds (45 kg) -- just like its parents, Adelhi (mother) and Buddy (father).

Anteater babies nurse for six months and are carried on their mothers’ backs for up to a year. The baby is born with a full coat of fur and its color, texture and pattern almost completely blends in; by these means it's protected from predators. Once an adult, this newborn will use its 4-inch-long (10 cm) claws to open termite mounds. There its 2-foot-long (.60 m) tongue will come in handy, extending up to 150 times a minute to eat as many as 35,000 termites and ants per day!

Giant Anteaters are called so because they are the largest of the Anteater family. Found in the grasslands and lowland tropical forests in Central and South America, they are listed as “Vulnerable” by the IUCN due to loss of that habitat, and hunting. Only 5,000 animals estimated to remain in the wild. 

Photo Credit: Busch Gardens Tampa

Double Mongoose Lemur Trouble At Busch Gardens

Earlier this month, Busch Gardens witnessed an uncommon event: the birth of Mongoose Lemur twins. On Friday, April 6, the two babies were born to 17-year-old mother Rosalita and 18-year-old father Guillermo. Rosalita’s first baby – a male named Duggan – was also born at Busch Gardens and moved to another zoo for breeding. Mongoose Lemurs are classified as a “vulnerable” species, and Busch Gardens takes part in Species Survival Plans (SSP) initiated by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) to cooperatively manage breeding programs for threatened or endangered species in accredited institutions. 

Busch Gardens zoo staff aren’t yet sure if the new babies are male or female. All baby Mongoose Lemurs look the same at birth, but around 6-8 months of age, males start to change color and develop their red “beard” and cheeks. Females have a darker face and white beard. 

Look closely in the pictures below to spot the babies tucked under mom's leg!

Photo credit: Matt Marriott / Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

The Mongoose Lemur, like all Lemurs, is indigenous to the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, but they are one of only two species of Lemur to also live in an area outside the island: Mongoose Lemurs can be found on the Comoros Islands between Madagascar and Africa.

A Bond To Last A Lifetime, One Year Later

Who can forget Kasi, Busch Gardens' Cheetah Cub born January 17th 2011, and his playpal Mtani, the Labrador Retriever puppy? For readers who've never met the dynamic duo, Kasi was paired with Mtani in order to help him get accustomed to socializing with other animals. “Male cheetahs are social and often live together in coalitions,” explained animal curator Tim Smith. “This social bond will be a very similar relationship, and they will be together for life."

Monday, April 16 marked the one-year anniversary of the first time park guests got to see an 8-week-old male cheetah cub and a 16-week-old female yellow Labrador puppy start to strike up a friendship that the park’s animal experts expect to last a lifetime. Now, a year later, they live together full time at the park’s Cheetah Run habitat and even travel together to schools, events and television studios, helping the park’s education team teach the public about the plight of cheetahs in the wild and the importance of Busch Gardens’ conservation efforts.

Photo credit: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

 

Learn more about the pair's anniversary beneath the fold...

Second Baby Aardvark For Busch Gardens!

Busch Gardens welcomed its newest resident earlier this week: an adorable Aardvark born Monday, March 26. The healthy baby weighs about 4.8 pounds and is expected to grow to more than 120 lbs. within its first year.

It is currently living behind the scenes at Jambo Junction – located in the Nairobi area of the park – and is receiving care from members of the animal care team. The baby will join mom “Izzy” and dad “Friz” in the upcoming weeks and will be an Animal Ambassador for the park, along with its older brother “Zawadi,” who will be a year old on April 10.

There are fewer than 40 aardvarks in zoos in North America. They are solitary by nature, and Aardvark births are not common. 

Photo credits: Matt Marriott/Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

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.

The Giraffe Baby Boom Continues!

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed a new baby female Reticulated Giraffe on Monday, January 27, 2011. At 6 foot, 2 inches tall and weighing approximately 176 pounds, the newborn is the calf of father, Jafari and mother, Cupid. This is Jafari’s second calf, and cupid’s fifth.

 

This new addition brings the park’s reticulated giraffe population to 19. Exactly one month to the day before this most recent birth, another female in the herd, Tesa, gave birth to Jafari’s first calf, which was also female.

Photo credit: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

The new mother and baby are currently in an area out of guest view so they can be closely monitored by zoo staff to ensure the baby is nursing and growing properly. The duo will join the other animals on the Serengeti Plain in about three months.

 

A Reticulated Giraffe’s gestation period is approximately 15 months, and the new baby will nurse for about one year. This birth is part of a successful long-term breeding program at Busch Gardens. The term “reticulated” refers to the Giraffe’s net-like pattern of spots.

 

Busch Gardens’ 65-acre Serengeti Plain is a naturalistic habitat featuring a diverse population of free-roaming African animals including Giraffe, Zebra, White Rhinoceros, Eland Antelope and several other species of hoof stock and birds.

More outstanding photos beneath the fold!