ZooBorns

Visitors Witness Rare Giant Anteater Birth

Visitors to Longleat Safari & Adventure Park in Wiltshire, UK had an unexpected surprise when they witnessed the arrival of a rare baby Giant Anteater. Choccy, as he’s been nicknamed by keepers, made his unscheduled appearance on March 9 in front of a stunned audience of onlookers. The tiny anteater’s arrival is particularly welcome as the species is officially listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

For the first six months mom Maroni will carry Choccy on her back virtually all the time. The baby takes milk by moving around underneath her and only very rarely lets go. The baby aligns itself to the pattern on mom's back to provide camouflage from any predators who might prey on the young. It’s so effective that it’s almost as if the baby become invisible.

Giant Anteaters originate from South America and can be found in tropical and deciduous forests. As its name suggests the giant anteater is the largest of the anteater family and can grow to over two metres in length with tongues that extend to more than 60cm. Their long nose, tongue and sharp claws enable them to get to into ant and termite mounds, eating over 30,000 insects in a single day!

Photo Credit: Longleat Safari & Adventure Park 

Read more after the jump.

Brookfield Zoo Black-footed Kitten Bonanza!

The Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, is happy to announce its newest addition, and a first for the zoo: a Black-footed Cat born on February 14.

Although staff are now cautiously optimistic about the kitten’s future, such was not the case in the beginning. Hours after his birth, Animal Programs staff became concerned about the male kitten’s well-being because his 4-year-old mother, Cleo, appeared not to be providing proper maternal care. The kitten was not nursing and his body temperature was alarmingly low. Additionally, he was significantly underweight at birth.

Photo credits: Jim Schulz/Chicago Zoological Society

 

To ensure that he had a chance for survival, staff quickly decided to intervene and handrear the kitten at the Chicago Zoological Society’s Animal Hospital, where he received round-the-clock care. He was placed in an incubator to increase and maintain his body temperature. Now 6 weeks old and gaining weight, the kitten is being fed a milk formula from a small bottle and is starting to eat solid foods.

The story continues after the jump with more photos...

Meet Lion Cubs Mtai and Serafina

Female African lion “Cabara,” age 6, gave birth to four cubs on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2012, at the Saint Louis Zoo. Unfortunately, two of the cubs born did not survive because Cabara was unable to produce milk to feed them. Zoo staff intervened, and the two surviving female cubs are currently being hand-reared by staff in a behind-the-scenes nursery at the Children’s Zoo.

“In the wild, it is not uncommon for lion mothers to rear fewer than fifty percent of the cubs born in a litter,” says Steve Bircher, curator of mammals/carnivores at the Saint Louis Zoo. “The cubs are growing rapidly and appear to be healthy.”

Photo credits: Rachael Macy/Saint Louis Zoo

The cubs’ names are “Mtai” (pronounced Muh-TIE), after a village in Tanzania, and “Serafina,” which means “angel” in African Swahili. At six weeks, they are eating some meat and drinking formula from bottles.

We Three King Penguin Chicks Weigh In

Three King Penguin chicks hatched at the Saint Louis Zoo's Penguin & Puffin Coast this January and February. The chick hatches after about 55 days. Its parents then continue to keep it warm under their belly flap for 30-40 days until it grows too large to cover. They continue to share feeding duties for about eight months. This handsome bird is one of the largest penguin species. As an adult, it weighs about 33 pounds, second only to the Emperor penguin.

The penguin chick keepers routinely weigh the youngsters to monitor their growth. After the quick check, they are returned to their parents. Don't miss the video of this below.

Photo Credit: Ray Meibaum/Saint Louis Zoo

Now you can see the chicks in action as they get weighed... and hear them, as these little ones can peep really loudly! 

Meet Tiny Pedro, The Orphaned Fox Cub

Photo credits: Secret World Wildlife Rescue Center

An unsuspecting dog walker heard the tiny screams of this newborn Fox cub from within a thorny bramble bush in Weston-super-Mare, England and immediately notified Secret World Wildlife Rescue Center. Center Manager Sara Cowen was able to extract the tiny Fox from the thorn covered fox hole and rush him to an incubator on site. It is suspected that the cub's mother had to make a hasty escape from her den, leaving vulnerable Pedro behind. Cowen said, "He would almost certainly have died if we hadn’t found him so soon." Pedro is the smallest Fox ever to come into Secret World's care.

Meet Marjorie, the Little Malayan Tapir

Belfast Zoo’s recent baby boom has continued with the birth of Marjorie, the Malayan Tapir. Marjorie was born on March 4 to parents Gladys and Elmer.

Zoo Curator Andrew Hope said, “Malayan tapirs are a beautiful but slightly unusual looking species. They are related to horses and rhinoceroses. The adults have a distinctive coat pattern and are black on the front and white on the back. However, when the calves are born they have beige spotted and striped markings, which make them look incredibly like ‘watermelons on legs’. Marjorie will begin to lose her markings after a few months. When she is six months old, she will look like a miniature adult!”

Malayan tapirs are the only tapir from Asia and are found in Indonesia, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia and Thailand. This incredible species faces a high risk of extinction, with studies estimating that the population could decline by up to 50% over the next 30 years. The main reasons for their decline are the destruction of their forest habitats and they are also hunted for meat and sport.

Photo Credit: Belfast Zoo

Story continues after the jump!

Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo Just Got Six Feet Taller!

A female Baringo Giraffe calf was born this month at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo. The calf was approximately 6 feet tall and over 100 pounds at birth. As an adult, she could eventually grow to 16 feet and weigh 2,600 pounds.

Giraffes are native to grasslands, savannas, and open woodlands in central, east, and southern Africa. The Baringo, or Rothschild’s, Giraffe is found in western Kenya and eastern Uganda. While Giraffe populations are robust in many places, overall the population is decreasing. The Wildlife Conservation Society works across the globe and within the giraffe’s African range to save wildlife and wild places. WCS is working to protect giraffes in key African landscapes like Zakouma, Chad, Murchison Falls, Uganda, and in the Sahel of South Sudan.

Photo credits: Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

The calf has not been named as of now. The Bronx Zoo names all of its giraffes in memory of Mr. and Mrs. James Carter, benefactors for the Carter Giraffe Building.

Clean Bill of Health For Koala Joeys

Photo credits: Zoological Society of San Diego

Less than a year old and barely out of their mothers' pouches, two young joeys visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park's veterinary hospital for their first medical exam. The two youngsters, named Thackary and Milo, were born last year in the Zoo's Koala Colony. Both babies received clean bills of health.

Have You Seen a Grizzled Leaf Monkey?

Primate keepers at Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury have welcomed a very special new arrival to their family of Grizzled Leaf Monkeys. The baby was born on February 14 to mom Juleha and has been named Asmara by her doting keepers. Asmara's birth makes her the twentieth baby to join the family at Howletts - home to the only group of Grizzled Leaf monkeys in human care outside their native land of Java. 

Head Primate Keeper Matt Ford said, "We are delighted with this new arrival; Mum and baby are doing very well. This new birth provides hope for the survival of these endangered primates in captivity." 

Grizzled Leaf monkeys are native to Java and live in primary and secondary rainforest, although drastic deforestation in the area has lead to destruction of their habitat, forcing them to live in forest fragments at higher altitude. Matt added "Deforestation has resulted in habitat loss for the Grizzled Leaf Monkey – only 4% of their original forest habitat remains on the island of Java." 

Photo Credit: Dave Rolfe

Read more about the Aspinall Foundation's work with the grizzled green leaf monkey after the jump. 

Polar Bear Cubs Debut and Delight Dutch Zoo Visitors

February 29th marked the official debut of The Netherlands' Ouwehands Zoo's Polar Bear cubs. Under the careful supervision of their mother 'Huggies', the cubs explored their outdoor exhibit for the first time. Born December 1st of 2011, the twins play a crucial role in educating their visiting public about the plight of this highly endangered species. Climate change is melting the sea ice on which this majestic creature depends for its survival in the wild, pushing Polar Bears to the brink of extinction.

Ouwehands' Polar Bear group consists of seven individuals; Victor, the twins' father, Freedom and her two cubs Siku and Sesi, Huggies and her two yet unnamed cubs.

Photo credits: Rob Doolaard, Robert Pleizier

The following video is in Dutch, but shows the cubs in action...