ZooBorns

Baby Orangutan Thriving at Taipei Zoo at One Year Old

Niu-li, a Bornean Orangutan, was born on April 11, 2012, at Taipei Zoo. She is named after her mother, Xiang-niu. Her father, Eddie, living in a nearby enclosure often peeks at his mate and daughter. Mom Xiang-niu was very loving, and held her baby quite tenderly. However, she was not producing enough milk, which had caused unsuccessful nursing in her previous two babies. So, after two days of observation, the keepers decided to it was necessary to hand-rear Niu-li,.

Female Orangutans invest a lot of time in their offspring, taking care of them until they reach adolescence at around 6 years of age. Although Orangutans are similar to human beings, nursing a 3 pound (1.42 kg) baby is still not an easy task. Keepers had to feed her five times a day, one of which had to happen before dawn. “Fortunately, Niu-li is a well-behaved baby. She drinks 65 c.c. of milk promptly every time,” said one of the zoo keepers.

The word “orangutan” comes from Malay language and means “person of the forest.” They are omnivorous, but primarily eat fruits, which make up more than 60% of their total dietary intake. They will migrate depending on fruit availability. 

Photo Credit: Taipei Zoo

Here's a video showing the baby's pictures and near the end, her first attempts at climbing:

Read about Niu-li's progress, and see more of her pictures,  after the fold:

Three Koala Joeys for Taipei Zoo

A trio of Koala joeys is making headlines at the Taipei Zoo.  The three joeys were born nearly a year ago, but are only now spending most of their time outside of their mothers’ pouches.  Like all marsupials, Koalas are only the size of a jellybean at birth and develop in the pouch.

It is unusual for a zoo to have three Koala joeys at once, but the zoo’s group of eight Koalas resulted in three pairings.  Female Koala Empress paired with male Flynn; female Tiwi paired with Q-be; and Coral selected Q-di as her mate.

Zoo officials began seeing the joeys peek out of their mothers’ pouches in July, but those appearances were brief and sporadic.  As the joeys have grown, their explorations out of the pouch have grown more frequent.

Newborn joeys nurse in the pouch for several months.  When the joey is about five months old and is being weaned, the mother will pass on the bacteria needed to digest eucalyptus leaves when it grows up.  Koalas feed exclusively these low-protein, hard-to-digest leaves.  To facilitate digestion, Koalas spend much of the day resting – up to 18 hours per day.

Koalas are listed as vulnerable by the IUCN and are protected under Australian law.  Recent clearing of bushland for development has caused a sharp decline in the wild Koala population.

Photo Credit:  Taipei Zoo

Can you see it? Koala joey plays peek-a-boo, one limb at a time

The Taipei Zoo's newest little Koala joey has decided it's time to take a peek out at the big world. Born to mom Empress and father Flynn, this baby koala has spent the last few months tucked quietly away inside mom's pouch. Judging by the lack of fur on this little guy, he or she has a month or more of pouch-time to go before fully venturing out, but limbs and snout will ocassionally make an appearance.

Almost hunted to extinction for their fur, this iconic species has made a comeback but faces new threats, including habitat destruction, cars and dogs, and disease. Koala's are not bears but marsupials.  

Four Formosan Hoglets in Taipei

On February 10 Taiwan's Taipei Zoo welcomed four little Formosan Wild Boar hoglets. This subspecies of boar is native only to Taiwan. The little boars were born as part of a Taipei Zoo conseration program to protect the species, which has become increasingly rare as farmers allow their domestic pigs to roam free and interbreed with Formosan Boars. Zookeeper Chen Yan He, the Zoo's unofficial "pig nanny," has worked with a variety of pigs and boars in the past but says that the Formosan Boars are among the most gentle.

Photo credits: Taipei Zoo

Little Phoenixes at the Taipei Zoo

ZooBorns has been working hard to encourage more submissions from zoos in Asia and we are thrilled to share our first submission from Taiwan's Taipei Zoo - two recently hatched Great Argus chicks! Taipei Zoo keepers were concerned because the eggs were hatched February 7, just before Chinese New Year when visitorship to the Zoo is especially high and could prove disruptive to the new family. However after 26 days, two healthy Great Argus chicks were hatched and have quickly followed mom's lead, foraging for food, hopping up to perch next to mom in branches, and otherwise sticking close to mom's feet. This rare pheasant species, also called a phoenix throughout much of Asia, is known for elaborate courtship displays and monogamous relationships but struggles with habitat destruction and over-hunting throughout most of its range. 

Photo credits: Taipei Zoo

A Lizard...? An Anteater...? A Pangolin!

Pangolins are nocturnal mammals that spend their nights hunting ants and termites and their days curled up in a ball. While they might look like an armadillo, anteater or even a walking artichoke, these unique animals belong to a family all their own. Only a handful of zoos around the world exhibit Pangolins, which are endangered in the wild, making the December birth of this little Chinese Pangolin at the Taipei Zoo an extremely rare occurrence. The toothless pup was found by zoo staffers last month in a hole its mother made after they tried to move her to a heated room during a cold front.

Photo credits: Taipei Zoo

Reportedly this baby Pangolin spends its days sleeping, drinking milk and climbing on mom's back for the occasional ride. Check out ZooBorns' last Pangolin pup we shared in 2009!