The Toronto Zoo's African Penguin family is growing! Proud parents Colby and Greenbird have hatched two penguin chicks. The first chick hatched on March 29, and the second on April 1. The fuzzy little duo is now on exhibit for intervals throughout the day in the Zoo's African penguin house. They join African Penguin chick Eldon, who was born January 28, and the Zoo's 12 adult penguins on exhibit.
Penguin chicks "grow up" very quickly. To get an idea of how fast, the first picture is of Eldon at 6-days-old and the third is of one of the new chicks, at 26-days-old. You can read all about Eldon and learn in-depth about the Zoo's African Penguin program in our ZooBorns article from May 12.
What's new at the Toronto Zoo? A baby Ring-tailed Lemur. Mom, Lily, gave birth to the little one on March 5... although the baby's father is a mystery, keepers believe it was most likely Lionel or Larry.
The gender of the baby will remain undetermined until the baby leaves the comfort of mom's furry chest. It's a natural instinct to separate and start exploring at about one month old.
Ring-tailed lemurs are only found on the island of Madagascar, and like all lemurs, are at risk from habitat destruction as jungle is converted to farmland. Sociable vegetarians, Ring-tails are currently listed as 'Threatened' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The Toronto Zoo announced Friday that the African Penguin breeding program initiated in November 2011 has been successful. The zoo's first chick hatched on January, 28, 2012, to penguin pair 'Gozi' and 'Puff'. The chick has been hand-raised by staff as the pair rejected the egg as it was hatching. Two other eggs have been laid by 'Colby' and 'Greenbird". It is expected that they will hatch later in March with the first three weeks being the most critical for their growth and survival.
The baby Penguin will be known as either 'Eldon' or 'Ellie' once the gender has been determined. (A determination can be made when the Penguin is older and a small blood sample can be taken) The chick can be observed by the general public in the Penguin house at the exhibit at scheduled times throughout the day as of March 10.
After a precarious start to life, a now 3 ½ month old male Polar Bear cub was introduced today at Toronto Zoo. This energetic young cub represents a heartwarming journey of survival, one where expert Toronto Zoo Wildlife Health staff worked around the clock to save a vulnerable species. The cub has successfully reached many milestones in his young life and is a great ambassador for a species in need of public education and support.
Photo credit: Toronto Zoo
"This has been an interesting and challenging case for the Zoo and a valiant and dedicated team effort of both the Wildlife Health Centre and Wildlife Care staff," said John Tracogna, the Zoo's Chief Executive Officer. "Ultimately, it has been a rewarding journey for everyone involved, and we are happy to introduce an active and healthy Polar Bear cub, our new Arctic ambassador to help share our conservation message with our visitors."
Learn about the cub's rocky start and about the zoo's naming contest beneath the fold...
The Toronto Zoo is asking for the public's help in naming its newest little gorilla born September 2. Mom's name is Ngozi and dad's is Charles... so may we suggest "Narles" or "Chgozi?" Actually those are both terrible names. We're sure you can do a better job than we did. Submit your suggestions here!
The feisty Vancouver Island Marmot is Canada's most endangered mammal with only an estimated 30 living in the wild in 2003. However, institutions like the Calgary and Toronto Zoos launched aggressive breeding and release programs that have since bolstered the wild population to 200 or more. These pups were born at the Calgary Zoo on June 30th and the Toronto Zoo just welcomed a litter this week!
On July 2nd the Toronto Zoo weclomed two snow leopard cubs. Critically endangered in the wild, snow leopards may some day depend on the genetic diversity preserved at zoos and aquariums for their species' survival. In the meantime, organizations like the Toronto Zoo and the Snow Leopard Trust offer fair trade products made by people living in snow leopard habitat to increase household income to deter poaching and raise awareness of the leopards' plight.
Dan Mongrain, aka Mongrelboy, was kind enough to share these adorable pictures of the Toronto Zoo's newborn baby mandrill. Little mandrills first cling to their moms' bellies and then ride on their backs as they grow older and larger.
The Toronto Zoo has chosen the name "Kali" for its adorable female zebra foal. The name means "lively and energetic". You can see why, too, as she trots about her enclosure with loving mom Shani standing close by.
The foal, seen here at just over 2 months old, was named Kali as the result of a naming contest in which 24,000 people participated.
"ZooBorns pulls off the difficult task of being cute and interesting for people of all ages while also being informative. Many books seek this lofty goal but most fail." - Seattle Post Intelligencer
