ZooBorns

Stingray Pups!

Babies have been born to two new Stingrays which arrived at Bristol Zoo last summer. Nine Ocellated Freshwater Stingray pups were born last week after two new females were introduced to the Zoo’s male stingray last year. The new females, sisters named Catalina & Genevieve, arrived at Bristol Zoo from Weston Seaquarium and have wasted little time in breeding. Catalina has produced six pups and three pups are from Genevieve.

The babies, six females and three males, are around just 12cm (4.7 inches) long and will eventually grow to the size of a car tyre. They have now been moved into a separate, off-show tank to keep them safe from larger predators in the display tank. In the coming months they will be re-homed, once they are bigger and stronger.

Photo credit: Lucy King

Jonny Rudd, assistant curator of the aquarium at Bristol Zoo, said: “I’m really pleased that the new pairings of our stingrays has led to the birth of these pups. Our male, called Gamma, is still relatively young and smaller than the females but that obviously hasn’t had any adverse effects.”

It's a Girl! Baby Chimpanzee Born at North Carolina Zoo

A baby chimpanzee was born at the North Carolina Zoo Monday evening. The little female has been named Ebi. This is the second baby for Mom Tammy, a 41-year-old female, who had previously given birth to Maki in March 1994.

Both mother and daughter are doing fine. Tammy is caring for her infant without any intervention from zoo staff members. The two are not on exhibit and will not be in the foreseeable future due to the cold weather and the infant-rearing process. According to General Curator Ken Reininger, it will be at least summer before the two will be on exhibit.  

Ebi's arrival makes her the 12th chimp birth at the park since its opening in 1974 and the second since August 2010. The North Carolina Zoo's chimp troop is one of the largest in U.S. zoos.  

 Photo Credit: Jb Minter/N.C. Zoo

 

It's a New Baby Giraffe for Jacksonville Zoo

The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens announced the birth of a male reticulated giraffe on January 11. The calf weighs approximately 145 pounds (65.7 kg), is six feet tall (1.82 m), and doing well. Guests riding the Zoo train may see the calf and its mother in the outdoor holding area, pending weather conditions or feeding and health care. 

“The neonatal or ‘well baby’ exam has been completed, and the calf is off to a good start,” said Tony Vecchio, executive director of Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.  “The calf was standing on all fours within one hour of the birth and is now walking, sitting, standing and nursing properly. The keepers and animal healthcare staff will continue to monitor the newborn closely.” 

This is the second offspring for mom, five-year-old Naomi, since she arrived at Jacksonville Zoo in October 2006. The calf’s father is Duke, the 14-year-old patriarch of the giraffe herd, who has now sired a total of seven offspring since he came to the Zoo in April of 2003. The Zoo now has nine giraffes in its collection and this is the 31st giraffe born there.

In the wild, poaching, human population growth and habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation continue to impact giraffes across the African continent. Current estimates by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation have the giraffe population at less than 80,000 individuals across all subspecies. This is a considerable drop in the last decade, where, in 1999, it was estimated by the IUCN that there were more like 140,000 giraffes.

Photo Credits: Jacksonville Zoo 

UPDATE: Siku the Baby Polar Bear

Last seen on ZooBorns at age 32 days, Siku, which means “Sea ice” in Greenlandic language, is proving to be quite a star, having had another photo session at the ripe old age of 52 days. Siku lives at the Scandinavian Wildlife Park of Djursland. 

Photo Credit: Seren Koch, Hilmer & Koch Naturfotografi/Skandinavisk Dyrepark

Seattle's Brand New Sea Otter Pup Bonds With Mom

The Seattle Aquarium announced Saturday the birth of a new Sea Otter pup at its facility on Pier 59 in Seattle. The young Otter was born Saturday Jan. 14 just before 5:00AM to the mother otter Aniak—who herself was born at Seattle Aquarium in 2002.

“We are so excited to welcome this new creature into the Aquarium family,” said Traci Belting curator of mammals and birds. “We’ll be observing the mother and pup round the clock to evaluate the health of each in the days ahead.”

Because Sea Otter pups stay so close to their mothers in the days after birth and because Otter fur is so thick, Aquarium staffers do not yet know whether the pup is a male or a female. Close monitoring of mother and pup by an “otter watcher” team will continue for at least four weeks.

Tiny Titi Monkey Takes a Ride on Dad

This tiny Titi Monkey is the youngest resident of the Basel Zoo monkey house. Born on December 27, the baby is tiny, and is being carefully looked after by all the family members.

Titi monkeys form lifetime relationships with a partner they choose right after leaving their family group at the age of three. Third-time mother Chica, age 9, and 6 year-old father Gunther are the parents. Gestation lasts for about 5 months after which a single baby -- or sometimes twins -- are born. Two days later, the father starts taking care of the newborn, carrying it on his back, and teaching the little one all it will need to know to become independent. The process takes about 3-4 months. Male Titi monkey are surprisingly caring and attentive and play the largest role in a baby’s upbringing; mothers interact with the baby only when it’s time for feeding. The father tends to its offspring for three to four months, when the young monkey can climb and feed on its own.

In the wild these monkey families live in the lower floors of the South American rain forest. They claim small territories of several square kilometers, where they feed mainly on fruit and leaves. Titi monkeys' survival is threatened mainly by habitat destruction. 

Photo Credit: Zoo Basel

Meet Libby, Point Defiance Zoo's Sea Otter

Little Libby was found orphaned off the coast in California late April. She is the youngest and smallest sea otter that Monterey Bay Aquarium has successfully rehabilitated. She arrived at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium on November 2 and is currently 30 pounds. Libby has formed a close bond with Point Defiance's next youngest sea otter, Kaladi, and the two of them love to splash and play!

Photo credits: Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium

Delicate Jellyfish Breeding Succeeds at Zoo Basel

Since the summer of 2011, Switzerland's Zoo Basel has been working behind the scenes with their new breeding vivarium equipment called "Plankton Kreisel". It ensures that baby jellyfish float like the ocean - in a continuous flow.They are so delicate that they could not withstand the corners found in normal tanks. Thanks to a new method of breeding and rearing, they are thriving.

Jellyfish in the vivarium have different feeding rhythms and the Zoo will fluctuate the temperatures within it to stimulate reproduction. This system was discovered by accident when, in December 1987, a cooling system in the vivarium went out for two days. Surprisingly, the jellyfish began to multiply! Now It takes a lot of work and knowledge to employ this new method for breeding them, but it has become a successful effort.  

Jellyfish are composed of two different life forms: affixed (polyps about 2 mm or .078 inches small) and free-swimming medusa, the actual "jellyfish". The polyps produce buds within the fluctuating environmental conditions, which detach with time and in the wild become jellies freely floating in the sea. Those jellyfish will in turn become sexually mature after a few months and then produce eggs and sperm.

Thanks to these new methods, jellies can again be seen on ehxibit at the Zoo in all their other-worldly beauty.

Photo credit: Zoo Basel

 

Look at Those Baby Tapir Spots!

On January 8, this South American Tapir was born at Parque Zoológico Botánico Bararida in Venezuela, South America. This is the fourth offspring of parents Ezekiel and Shama. The baby is male and as of yet unnamed. This is the Zoo's first birth of the new year.

Tapirs look like pigs with long snouts but they are more closely related to rhinos and horses! This extended nose and upper lip are used to grab branches and strip the leaves or to pluck fruit. They eat morning and evening, and roam in well worn paths to water sources while foraging and depositing seeds along the way.Tapirs are excellent swimmers and even dive to nibble on plants. There are four species of tapir and all are endangered or threatened, largely due to hunting and habitat loss.

Photo Credits: Parque Zoológico Botánico Bararida

Brody the Baby Bongo, Born at the Houston Zoo

There's a new baby Bongo at the Houston Zoo in Texas, and his name is Brody. Born on December 6, Brody weighed just over 40 pounds (18.3 kg). He’s a big healthy boy with a good appetite as evidenced by his current weight 5 weeks later - 92+ pounds (42 kg). He can be seen every day (weather permitting) on exhibit with his 3 year old mom Penelope. His favorite spot for resting and naps is in the front right hand corner of the exhibit.

To the casual observer, all bongo calves look alike. But the zoo's keepers found a perfect way to tell them apart – they count the white stripes on their side. Bongo can have 10 to 14 white stripes on each side and each side can present a different configuration. For instance, Penelope has 11 stripes on each side. 

A bongo is a type of antelope native to the lowlands and mountain forests of Kenya and western Africa and are among the largest of the African forest antelope. In the wild, bongos are shy and elusive but very social. In fact, they are the only forest antelope to form herds.

The Western or lowland bongo is classified as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the IUCN. The Eastern or mountain bongo is classified as endangered. 

Photo Credit: Stephanie Adams/Houston Zoo