On January 13, deep within the dens of the U.K.'s Durrell Wildlife Park Asian Small-clawed Otter enclosure, female otter Bintang gave birth to not one, not two but three babies! Small-clawed Otters are the smallest species of otter in the world, and when the babies were checked and weighed just days ago, they weighed a tiny three-quarters pound (335g) each!
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On September 27, as new mother Hlala Kahlili cradled her newborn infant, the U.K.'s Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust celebrated the arrival of their first Western Lowland Gorilla in nine years. Western Lowland Gorillas are one of the world's most critically endangered primates, so this birth is significant for the species' breeding program.
The baby, whose gender is not yet known, is the first offspring of Badongo, a dominant silverback Gorilla who arrived at the park last year. Hlali Kahlili is an experienced mother, and this is her fourth baby.
Mark Brayshaw, Head of Animal Collection at Durrell said, “We are delighted with the great news and so far the mother and baby are doing well, but as with all births we need to be extra cautious during the first few days. At the moment the group including the new parents are all very relaxed and our keepers are remaining as hands off as possible as the group appears quite settled.”
Western Lowland Gorillas are native to the forests of equatorial Africa. They live in extended family groups, traversing the forest in search of fruit, leaves, and seeds.
Photo Credits: Will Bertram
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A new pair of baby ring-tail lemur twins were born at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust on March 28, 2011, to proud parents Muriel and Hannibal. The babies are usually with mum, clinging to her belly to start.Over the last few weeks they have begun climbing on her back so that they can take a good look at their surroundings. Dad Hannibal has been seen grooming the babies and sitting with his arm around Muriel. In just a short time the twins have grown quite a bit -- and gotten very active!
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Three Yellow Mongoose babies were born last Sunday night (about one week ago from when these pictures were taken) to first time parents Basil and Sybil at Durrell Wildlife Trust. Yellow Mongoose litters usually consist of one or two individuals so having three is currently keeping Sybil very busy, but she is proving to be a great first time mom. Yellow Mongooses live with meerkats in the wild, and this natural behaviour is replicated at the conservation charity’s headquarters in the Channel Islands.
At the moment the new babies are being kept hidden away by mum, their eyes have not yet opened and they are not strong enough to fend for themselves. But in another week or so they will be exploring outside, meeting their meerkat neighbours and in just a couple of months they will be completely weaned!
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This week keepers at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust were delighted to welcome a healthy male Black Lion Tamarin, the first born in captivity outside of Brazil in eight years! Mark Brayshaw, Head of Durrell’s animal collection said, “This baby is incredibly important to the European Endangered Species Program. There is still a very long way to go to ensure that the captive population’s viability is assured, but this is most definitely a step in the right direction.”
This baby has been named Francisco after the Head of Durrell’s Veterinary Department who delivered him. He is the first healthy baby born to new mum Roxanne, who has previously lost two babies and suffered several miscarriages. Due to her previous problems the decision was made to monitor her four and a half month pregnancy carefully and to deliver the baby by caesarean section at the appropriate time. You can see a video below that includes the C-section at the end.
Photo credits: Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
So far both mother and baby are doing well. The infant is being hand-reared and syringe fed every two hours throughout the day and night. Over the next few weeks they will slowly teach him to lap milk from a dish; when he is able to do this successfully he can be returned to his family.
The video below contains grahic but fascinating footage of the actual c-section operation.
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The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust recently welcomed a baby African Crested Porcupine named Pippa or Pip for short. Baby porcupines are called "porcupettes" and their quills are soft for the first few days. However in adulthood this porcupine's quills provide a potent defensive weapon. When threatened, this species turns away from its aggressor, stamps its little feet, then charges rear-end first with its sturdiest quills sticking straight out. Doesn't look like Pip or mom have too much to be upset about though in salad paradise.
Photo credits: Colm Farrington
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Photo credits - Images 1,2 & 4, Colm Farrington and images 3 and 5 Roberto Huzlebos
So what are you waiting for? Naming a lemur makes the perfect bar mitzvah gift. And how better to say "I love you" for a special anniversary than by naming a lemur after your wife? Join the bidding on eBay or read more about the contest on the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust site.
We're sorely tempted to name one "ZooBorns.com" but you gotta figure the little guy would be mercilessly teased in lemur elementary school.
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"Animal Babies Make Conservation Cute"
- New York Times
"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
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