ZooBorns

Alaska SeaLife Center Rehabs Baby Otter For New Home at Vancouver Aquarium

This orphaned female Sea Otter pup was rescued off the side of a road by Alaska SeaLife Center volunteers on October 19, 2012, after efforts to locate her mother were unsuccessful and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service authorized the intervention.The pup was immediately transferred to its I.Sea.U. critical care unit in Seward, Alaska for emergency treatment. She was estimated to be approximately eight weeks old when found, and was deemed non-releasable by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service due to the maternal care required by young otters.

She has just been transferred from the Alaska SeaLife Center to its new permanent home at the Vancouver Aquarium, which will allow the pup to receive the ongoing care and companionship she needs. Described as playful, and sometimes mischievous, she has adjusted well and soon will be introduced to Tanu and Elfin -- two Sea Otters who were also found stranded as pups and rescued by the Alaska SeaLife Center in years past.

Photo Credit: Alaska SeaLife Center

Local students from the Alaska SeaLife Center’s Ocean Sciences Club provided three possible Alaskan names for the baby Otter: Susitna, Katmaiand Glacier. The final choice will be made through a voting contest held by the Vancouver Aquarium. 

Learn more of this story of teamwork below the fold:

Peek-A-Boo! Little Goeldi's Marmoset gets first look at the world

The Goeldi’s Marmoset troop at the Vancouver Aquarium welcomed a new addition in early September.  This is the fourth baby born to Ginger, the troop’s matriarch, and an important addition to the captive population of these primates, which are classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Kristen Brown, the animal care specialist responsible for these animals, says that female Goeldi’s marmosets generally have two offspring a year. Kristen says the baby will spend the next couple of weeks hanging on to its mom’s shoulders, crawling to her belly when it’s time to nurse.  Eventually, the baby will begin to venture out on its own and become interested in what everyone else is eating: fruits, vegetables and insects.

After two months, the baby will start jumping and climbing as it grows stronger. And if past experience is any indication, it will also start to chase and be chased by its brothers and sisters.

Goeldi’s Marmosets are native to the upper Amazon Basin in South America.  These tiny primates are only about 8 inches (20 cm) long, excluding the tail.  Like most tropical primates, they feed on fruit, insects, and small vertebrates.  During the dry season, they feed on fungi, making them the only tropical primate to depend on this food item.

Photo Credit: Neil Fisher

Name the Baby Beluga at the Vancouver Aquarium

Beautiful footage of the Vancouver Aquarium's baby beluga, which was born earlier this summer. Additionally, the Vancouver Aquarium is asking Canadians to help them pick a name for the little girl. Submit your suggestions here!

Baby Belugas Meet for the First Time

The Vancouver Aquarium's newborn Beluga whale met her neighbor, one year old Beluga calf Tiqa, for the first time on Monday. 

Baby Beluga Bounces into Vancouver Aquarium

Just a few hours ago at the Vancouver Aquarium, staff watched breathlessly as 20 year old beluga whale Aurora gave birth to a calf. Like all baby belugas, the calf was born with large wrinkles which disappear over the first few weeks.

 

 

The unnamed calf will be sharing its enclosure with another calf born in the fall of last year named Tiqa. Researchers are interested to see how the two calves interact and we hope to bring you pictures soon.

Video of actual birth can be watched below the fold. Be warned though: like most mammal births, it's a messy (but joyous!) process.