ZooBorns

Baby Cape Porcupine aka "Prickly Piggy"

This baby Cape porcupine was born June 6th at Switzerland's Zoo Basel. Unusually long-lived for a rodent, Cape porcupines live up to 20 years. Although the English name is hardly any better, we are always amused by the German translations of animal names, in this case the German word for "baby porcupine" roughly translates to "Prickly Piggy." 

Mom has food. Baby prickly pig is intrigued

Perhaps nuzzling will provide access to delicious carrot

Is there delicious carrot in this porcu's future? Tune in next week to find out.

A Prickly Bundle of Porcupine Joy

This baby Cape porcupine was born eight weeks ago at the Naples Zoo weighing just 1 lb, but since then the prickly critter has grown to seven times her birth weight! Like all porcupines, at birth the little girl's quills were soft like hair but began to harden almost immediately. 

Handle with care

Rock-on little porcu

Malagasy Jumping Rat Pup

More closely related to mice than rats, Malagasy jumping rats are highly endangered on their native island of Madagascar. Unlike many of their rodent brethren, Malagasy jumping rats are not prolific breeders, giving birth to only one pup a year, making this new arrival at the Prospect Park Zoo very special.

Mamma jumping rat is quite attentive to her rare little pup

A Pile of Prairie Dog Pups

ZooAmerica recently welcomed sixteen tiny black-tailed prairie dogs. Highly social animals, prairie dogs frequently visit one another and greet by rubbing snouts, which people compare to a kiss.

 

Baby Capybara Meal Train

Meet the Marwell Zoo's newest baby capybaras as they chase mom around their exhibit looking for lunch. Capybara are the world's largest living rodent and they are very social and vocal, communicating with purrs, alarm barks, whistles, clicks, squeals and grunts. We're guessing this is a noisy bunch.

Lunch on the run

Thanks to photographer Helena Pugsley for sharing.

What's an Agouti?

Kind of like a guinea pig, but with longer legs, agoutis range between Central and South America and some of the nearby islands. This baby Brazilian agouti was born January 11, 2009 at the the LA Zoo. These rodents are remarkable for their ability to jump up to six feet straight up from a standstill.

 

Agoutis tend to eat fallen fruits and nuts as well as succulent plants.  One of the few animals capable of breaking open the pods of the Brazil nut tree, they have a symbiotic relationship with the tree.  After they open the pods, agoutis bury the extra nuts over a wide area.  The seeds that aren’t later retrieved by the agoutis for food will grow into new trees.