A baby White Rhinoceros was born at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay on July 13, the first calf born to mother Kisiri and the fifth calf born to father Tambo. Busch Gardens has celebrated a total of five white rhino births since October 2004, four of which are female. The new baby weighed an estimated 140 pounds at the time of the birth. The newborn – who has yet to be named – will gain approximately four pounds each day until it reaches an adult weight of approximately 3,500 to 4,000 pounds.
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. The birth brings the total White and Black Rhino population at the park to 13.
Photo credits: Matt Marriott / Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Seven baby Caribbean Flamingos were hatched at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay between June 3rd and July 25th. The chicks are on display along with approximately 125 adult flamingos in the Bird Gardens area of the park. Newly hatched chicks are not pink, but in fact have gray or white down feathers. Their pink coloring comes from the carotenoid pigments they consume as part of their diet. They won’t lose all of their darker feathers for a few years. Flamingos have long resided at Busch Gardens. Their bright color and gentle nature have made them a favorite of park guests for many years.
Photo credits: Nick Gollattscheck / Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay guests got their first look at two new baby reticulated giraffes this week as the babies were introduced to the rest of the herd on the Serengeti Plain for the first time. The first was born on April 6 and was the fourth calf for mother Tesa. The second was born April 24, and is the first calf for mother Chloe. Both are males sired by father Sterling.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed two endangered baby
red-ruffed lemurs on April 21. The babies are the first lemurs to be born at
Jambo Junction, home to the parks’ animal ambassadors, since parents Maditra and
Bozeny arrived as babies three years ago.
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
The sex of the babies has yet to be determined, but they are developing well overall, according to trainers. They are getting braver each day, and exploring their habitat under the watchful eye of Mom and Dad. They currently weigh about 300 grams or a little more than half a pound; lemurs average about 80 grams, or .17 of a pound, at birth. They grow to be about 8 to 10 pounds.
Yesterday, we brought word of a brand new Tamandua (Lesser Anteater) at Busch Gardens' Discovery Cove, Orlando, Florida. There's another baby anteater (Giant Anteater) on the Busch Gardens block, this one at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Weighing about 3 pounds at birth, the little boy will ride on his mother's back for about four months until he is ready to walk, explore and find food on his own. Giant anteaters detect insects with their powerful sense of smell, which is 40 times stronger than a human's and allows them to find and eat up to 30,000 insects a day.
A few weeks back, we brought you the first photos of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's
newest little White Rhino calf. Today we bring you new video of the calf in full romp mode, close by mom's side, of course.
Meet Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's newest little white rhino calf. Born this past Wednesday to mother Mlaleni and father Tambo, the baby girl is the third offspring of these busy parents since 2004. Even with skin that can reach a few centimeters thick, mother and baby bond with some muzzle to muzzle nuzzling.
Photo credits: Matt Marriott / Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Tipping the scales at an estimated 100 lbs., this calf may some day reach nearly 8,000 lbs. After elephants, white rhinoceroses are the largest land animal with the record holder weighing in at 10,000 lbs.
Try saying the title of this post five times fast. Alliteration and ZooBorns go together like, well, baby Bongos and Busch Gardens.
On September 13th, Busch Gardens welcomed a baby Bongo to the fold. Native to the rainforests of Africa, the endangered Eastern Mountain subspecies of Bongo has the most striking coloring of all bongos. Thanks to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and its member institutions, 18 zoo born Bongos were released back onto Mount Kenya in 2004, helping to repopulate the area.
"ZooBorns pulls off the difficult task of being cute and interesting for people of all ages while also being informative. Many books seek this lofty goal but most fail." - Seattle Post Intelligencer
