ZooBorns

Nashville Zoo Welcomes Eurasian Lynx

Nashville Zoo is pleased to announce the birth of a Eurasian Lynx. The female cub was born to the Zoo’s on-exhibit pair on Saturday, May 4.

“We suspected that our Lynx might be pregnant due to a slight weight gain but never had confirmation,” said Connie Philipp, mammal curator. “The cub arrived on its estimated due date based on the data the keepers collected, and she’s now being hand-raised by our animal care staff. She will eventually join an educational outreach program at another zoo.”

Photo credits: Amiee Stubbs Photography

Nashville Zoo is home to three Eurasian Lynx, a male and female on exhibit, and a male, known as Blitz, that is a part of our “Wildlife on Wheels” program. The Eurasian Lynx exhibit was generously sponsored by David and Kathryn Brown.

Eurasian Lynx are the largest of the lynx species and are native to Central Asian, European and Siberian forests. While not listed as endangered, Eurasian Lynx are rarely seen in some parts of its home range.

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Little Lynx Cub Makes His Debut

Last week, a 10-week old Lynx cub made his debut at the Montréal Biodôme. Visitors will now get to see the cub play hide and seek, learn to climb trees, and leap from rock to rock … all under the watchful eye of his mother.

In May, the animal keepers at the Biodôme suspected that the six-year-old female Lynx was pregnant, judging by her weight gain and her behavior. Since she was looking for a dark, safe place to give birth, a wooden shelter was built over her rest area. The Lynx cub was born during the night of May 26-27, in good health, while two other cubs died within just a few days. The surviving cub has done very well since then. He is still nursing, but has recently been developing a taste for small game. On July 26, during his general check-up, he received his first vaccination without any complaints. He weighs just over 5 pounds (2.3 kg).

Over the next few months, the young Lynx will be alone with his mother in the Laurentian Maple Forest habitat. During this time the six-year-old father will be kept in night quarters. Just as in the wild, the female raises her cub alone, since males can be a threat to their offspring.

Lynx have a low success rate when it comes to breeding in captivity. From 1999 to 2009, the average North American birth rate for Canada Lynx was 1.45 cubs per year. The Biodôme,a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums (CAZA), is very proud of this important birth.

Photo Credits: © Biodôme de Montréal (Claude Lafond)

 

Little Lynx Lady-trio Born at Whipsnade Zoo

One proud set of parents at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo have three reasons to celebrate this summer: the birth of European Lynx kitten triplets. The all-female trio, born in June to parents Maja and Timo, have spent their first weeks of life tucked up in their den but have just now begun to explore outside. This is the second litter of Whipsnade’s rare European Lynx, one of Europe’s largest predators. They were born blind and helpless, weighing between 8.5 -15oz and will reach adult-size at around two-years-old. 

Now that they are big enough to venture out on their own, the playful kittens can be spotted perched on logs and playing hide and seek with each other in the long grass while mom keeps a close watch. Senior keeper Carole Day said: “Mum’s doing a sterling job of looking after all three kittens. They are starting to become more adventurous and independent and are having lots of fun exploring their paddock.”

Known to be a crepuscular species, European Lynx are most active at dawn and dusk and the kittens are no exception. Keepers at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo see the cheeky three playing most often at the beginning and end of the day. Whipsnade’s kittens are already showing off their distinctive pointed ears and large padded paws but won’t develop their spotted markings for another few months yet.

 

Photo Credit: Michael Abel

 

Little Lynx Kitten Born at the Montreal Biodome

On May 27 this little Lynx kitten was born at the Montreal Biodome. The baby is growing very quickly -- just this week it opened its eyes and as of today it weighs 2.5 pounds (1.135 kg). Having recently started to pad around with it's relatively big paws, the kitten is showing great curiosity about its surroundings. Its mother is very protective and keeps a careful watch over her little one. In the wild, young stay with their mothers for about nine months before they go out on their own.

Their rich, thick fur keep them warm in harsh winters and their large paws spread out to act as snowshoes. That fur causes them to be hunted for their pelts. Largely solitary animals inhabiting high-altitude forests in Europe, North America and Asia, small groups of Lynx have been known to travel and hunt together on the ground, in trees, or even by swimming to catch fish. These carnivores feed on a wide range of animals, hunting at night and steering clear of humans, so they are rarely seen. However, keepers expect this Lynx to take its place in the habitat in late July. 

Photo Credit: Biodôme de Montréal

Canada Lynx Kittens Debut at Minnesota Zoo

Two female Lynx kittens – the first born at the Minnesota Zoo since 1993 – are now on exhibit between 9-noon daily. Born May 13, the kittens have been bonding with their mom off exhibit since that time. Their mother, who came to the Zoo in 2007, is a great first time mom and very protective of her kittens. The Minnesota Zoo had nine litters born at the zoo between 1981–1993, totaling 22 kittens.

Photo Credits: Minnesota Zoo

Nashville's Storm Babies! (Part I)

This past weekend, record rainfall caused catastrophic flooding in Nashville and the Nashville Zoo staff worked day and night to ensure their animals' welfare. Their hard work paid off with not one, but two remarkable births, welcoming a Eurasian lynx cub on Saturday and a Baird's tapir on Sunday.  The tiny baby lynx is being hand-raised by keepers and will eventually join "Wildlife on Wheels”: the Zoo’s educational outreach program that takes animals to schools, senior centers, hospitals and other community areas that might not be able to make it to the zoo on their own. The mother lynx is showing no signs of stress that her baby is being hand-raised.

Photo credits: Christian Sperka

Tune in Monday when we bring you Nashville's second storm baby, the aptly named tapir, "Noah." In the meantime, learn about how you can help the Nashville Zoo recover from the devastating flooding.

Leaping Lynx Kittens in Wisconsin

Two fluffy Canadian Lynx kittens were welcomed at the Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo last week as part of the AZA's Population Management Plan for the species which called for additional genetic diversity in the zoo population. Lucky visitors to the NEW Zoo can see the kittens between noon and 3pm daily through a viewing window at the animal hospital. For those of you not in the area, enjoy the video at the bottom.

Looking ferocious

Cincinnati's Lynx Babies

Two Eurasian lynx were born March 26th at the Cincinnati Zoo to parents “Birk” and “Nahlin”. The Eurasian lynx is uncommon in U.S. zoos and the Cincinnati Zoo is excited to be home to the newest additions. ZooBorns is proud to welcome the pair as the first of their kind to be featured on our site.

Photo Credits: (top: David Jenike and the Cincinnati Zoo, bottom two: Connie Lemperle and the Cincinnati Zoo)

The Zoo has also welcomed a baby, takin, okapi, golden head lion tamarin, a Bennet’s wallaby, galapagos tortoises, an Angolan python, a green tree python, and MORE... All these ZooBorns can be seen at the Zoo's "Zoo Babies" event which runs from May 9th to May 24th.