Prague Zoo welcomed its 216th Przewalski's Horse foal on August 1. Prague Zoo has the leading international stud book (breed registry) of this critically endangered species and boasts the longest continuous breeding history worldwide. The foal's father is a male from the Ukraine whose grandmother Lena was the last Przewalski's Horse ever caught in the wild. For this reason, the new foal's genes are extremely valuable for maintaining diverse bloodlines in breeding populations. The foal's Mother Hara has proven an exemplary mom, immediately coming to the aide of the foal by cleaning it and overseeing its crucial first steps. Sadly, the Przewalski's horse became extinct in the wild in 1968, but Prague Zoo and others worldwide have had success in efforts to revitalize wild populations.
Among the rarest mammals, the Somali Wild Ass is a critically endangered subspecies of African Wild Ass, which is itself critically endangered. This species is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey. While the exact size of the small population left in the wild is unknown, about 200 Somali Wild Asses live in zoos around the world, 35 of which were bred at Switzerland's Zoo Basel! Born November 16th, this beautiful young foal, named Hakaba, explores her enclosure for the first time, cautiously sniffing at first, then exuberantly running!
For the first time since 1994, three Asian Wild Horse foals have been born at the Calgary Zoo’s endangered species breeding facility – the Devonian Wildlife Conservation Centre (DWCC). The adorable new additions, now frolicking in the meadows at the zoo’s ranch, expand the herd from 8 to 11 horses. The public will have the chance to name the foals. The three foals were born on April 24 (colt*), May 2 (filly‡), and May 20 (filly) – contest details follow. All of them were sired by Varanasi, a stallion born at the San Diego Wild Animal Park and introduced to the Calgary herd in 2008. All three mares, Naghai, Molly and Chilka, were born at the Granby Zoo in Quebec.
On April 25th, Germany's Allwetter Zoo in Munster welcomed a Mongolian horse foal weighing 35 kg (77 lbs). Small and stocky, Mongolian horses have remained largely unchanged genetically since the time of Ghengis Kahn. They also have the largest genetic diversity among all horse breeds, suggesting that humans have not guided their breeding habits nearly as closely as other horses.
The latest arrival at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo is a total beginner, but the newborn Przewalski foal is already finding his feet in the public arena. Born in the early hours of Tuesday 15th September, the foal is still sticking close beside mother Tuuli but can be seen here wobbling around, trying to copy the other horses as they quick-step around the paddock.
There's so much going on at zoo nurseries these days we can barely keep up! Enjoy this collection of outstanding videos from Smithsonian National Zoo and Bronx Zoo.
In a 24-hour-period between July 9 and 10, a clouded leopard cub, a Przewalski's horse, and a red panda cub
were all born at Smithsonian's National Zoo's Conservation and Research
Center
Looks like the Smithsonian National Zoo is gonna need a bigger bird house!
Watch a baby lemur grow from a sleepy eyed infant into a bouncing teen (in lemur years) at the Bronx Zoo
Keepers at the Smithsonian Zoo closely watched female Przewalski’s horse Brandy for the past
several weeks as they realized a birth was imminent. The foal was seen
nursing soon after its July 9th birth. The mother and offspring are
bonding well.
Przewalski’s horses are critically endangered—only a few hundred
reintroduced animals live in protected areas in their native China and
Mongolia. The National Zoo is at the forefront of Przewalski’s horse
conservation, which includes detailed reproductive studies of the herd
at CRC, leading the Przewalski’s Horse North American Species Survival
Plan and using GIS technology to study their movements in the wild. Many more pics after the jump...
Photo Credit: Mehgan Murphy/Smithsonian's National Zoo
"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
