Since you first met Cameron Park Zoo's baby Hedgehogs on ZooBorns a few weeks ago, these prickly hoglets have been busy growing. Once able to fit in a teaspoon, the Hedgehogs, named Polaris, Storm, Magneto & Juggernaut, are now the size of golf balls. When fully grown, these spiny wonders will be about the size of a softball.
Hedgehogs are insect-eaters that use their spiny coat as a defense against predators. When threatened, they curl into a ball with spines erect, making themselves a much less appealing snack.
These four Hedgehogs are destined for use in the zoo's education programs, where they will inspire kids of all ages to appreciate wildlife.
Meet Polaris, Storm, Magneto & Juggernaut. No, it's not a cast of characters from The X-Men, these are Cameron Park Zoo's newest education animals. Once the baby Hedgehogs are old enough they will be used for education and outreach programs.
Who could forget the first photos of Cameron Park Zoo's Sumantran tiger twins? You can find their baby pictures right HERE.
Indah, the female and Bugara, the male have been getting more and more adept at navigating the territory within their habitat since they first began to go out for short periods of 1-2 hours in late October. They continue to be full of life, play and spunk and are a delight to visitors and keepers alike.
Sumantran tigers are a species that inhabit the Indonesian island of Sumantra. They were declared critically endangered by the IUCN in 2008. Their total population in the wild is projected to be as low as under 300. That is why healthy cubs like this and zoo breeding programs are so important to their preservation.
The Sumatran tiger is the smallest of the tiger subspecies whereas the Siberian tiger is the largest.
Update: The two Sumantran Tiger cubs from Cameron Park Zoo that we first wrote about HERE, made their public debut on Friday, October 28, in the tiger exhibit yard. The cubs had a trial run of their exhibit the day before, and their keeper along with zoo management felt that they could safely negotiate the tiger yard under the supervision of their keepers.
And, the cubs now have names -- the male is Bugara and the female is Indah.
For the next few weeks the goal is to have Indah and Bugara at play in the exhibit at 2:00 p.m. each afternoon. The play period will last from one to two hours depending on the cubs’ stamina. The cub’s time will also be dependent on the weather -- a temperature of 55 degrees Farenheit (12.7 Clesius) or higher - and the willingness of the adult tigers to leave the yard and come inside so the cubs can play.
Cameron Park Zoo is proud to announce the birth of two Sumatran Tiger cubs, one female and one male. The female was born at 1:30 pm on August 15th and the male was born at 3:30 am on August 16th. This was the first pregnancy and birth for Maharani, the mother tiger, and unfortunately she rejected the cubs immediately after their births. Zoo staff members were standing by and were able to take over the care of the cubs, which are now being hand-reared in the zoo’s veterinary facility.
Photo credits: Cameron Park Zoo
Because of their rocky start in life the cubs have been under 24 hour a day critical care and they are currently thriving. The female weighed 1 lb. 13 oz. at birth and the male weighed 2 lbs. 5oz. Today the female weighs 9 lbs 9 oz and the male weighs 12 lbs 1 oz. Since the cubs are too young to be on display at this point, they will continue to reside in the veterinary facility and the zoo will post daily photos and videos on the Cameron Park Zoo website and Facebook page. Zoo staff members will begin allowing the cubs to spend supervised time on exhibit when they judge them strong enough to negotiate the terrain of the Tiger exhibit.
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