Welcome to the world, baby squirrel monkey. The adorable infant, born at San Diego Zoo, is already a big kid and rides "jockey style" on mama's back instead of clinging to her chest like other primate species do.
It's too soon to tell if baby is male or female, but Wildlife Care Specialists will have a better idea as it continues to develop more distinguishing features. Our squirrel monkeys are currently off-habitat, but will live in the Zoo’s new Wildlife Explorers Basecamp habitat opening early next year.
SOUND ON! We didn't want you to miss the cutest crunching in town. Kansas City Zoo's tree kangaroo joey Poppy is learning quickly from mom Nokopo, and that includes snacking style! Currently around eight months old, Poppy can be seen outside of the pouch from time to time. For this crunch session, however, Poppy stayed comfortably inside mom's pouch!
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) has shared new video of six-month-old endangered Amur tiger cubs, Nishka, Layla and Aleksander, playfighting at Highland Wildlife Park, near Aviemore, this month.
Keepers at the wildlife conservation charity say the trio’s personalities are developing as they grow bolder and more confident, often entertaining visitors with their playful antics.
Keith Gilchrist, animal collection manager at Highland Wildlife Park, said, “It has been wonderful to see our three cubs and mum Dominika grow over the past six months. At half a year old, the cub’s characters are starting to shine.
“Nishka is the most confident around us and is always chuffing in the hope of more meat chunks.
“Layla follows in her footsteps as the two are always together, play fighting and keeping mum on her toes.
“Little Aleksander is more reserved and spends the most time with Dominika, but he is slowly becoming braver, exploring more and playing with his sisters.
“Amur tiger family groups do not usually live together in the wild and Dominika is still fiercely protective of the cubs, so dad Botzman is living separately for now.”
The public can help care for the Amur tiger family at the park and support wildlife conservation around the world by adopting the species this Christmas at bit.ly/AdoptAmurTiger.
Many of you are (im)patiently awaiting the date when you can finally see Zoo de Beauval’s little panda twins, just over 100 days old, in person. Well TADAAA, here it is: Huanlili and Yuandudu will be visible in their indoor enclosure from the pandas gallery starting SATURDAY December 11, 2021!!! You have followed their birth, their first days and their first adventures… come and discover them “for real” in a few days!
THE ZOO’s WEBSITE: zoobeauval.com 🐼
And learn about their commitment to preserve animal species here:
On the morning of November 13, 2021, Somali wild ass mare Mwana gave birth to little Salia. What sounds like good news was actually a race against time. The natural mother-young bond was broken after birth; Salia's survival was in danger. It was only thanks to the foresight of the veterinary team at Basel Zoo that the two of them trot together today.
Salia is the name of the youngest offspring of the Somali wild ass. As a descendant of the stallion Adam, who has few relatives in the European population, she is genetically a very important and valuable animal. The scenes that happened on the weekend of November 13th and 14th at Basel Zoo were therefore unsettling: the mare Mwana was visibly stressed and overwhelmed with the young animal after giving birth - which often happens with first-time mothers. This meant that the bond between mother and young animal could not develop properly. Mwana showed no interest in her boy and drove Salia away as soon as she wanted to drink. The chicks chances of survival dropped drastically.
A story with happy end
Basel Zoo wanted to refrain from hand-rearing. Good advice was expensive. Accordingly, the veterinary team at Basel Zoo got support from two horse specialists from the region on Monday, November 15, 2021. Together it was decided to give Mwana a hormone injection so that she could relive the birth hormonally. The vital bond between mother and foal was established within 30 minutes. For the first time, little Salia was allowed to drink extensively. Today the offspring is fine. She is playful and likes to test her long legs when she does sprints together with her mother in the outdoor area.
Salia is one of around 200 Somali wild asses living in zoos around the world. In nature, these donkeys are threatened with extinction and are among the rarest mammals. Only a few hundred animals still live in Ethiopia, Eritrea and perhaps Somalia. Wars, competition with the population's livestock and the meager food and water reserves have decimated their populations extremely in recent years. This makes the efforts of the zoological gardens all the more important with the European conservation breeding program, called EEP (ex situ program of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria EAZA) to preserve this rare mammal species. Basel Zoo coordinates the EEP of the Somali wild ass and maintains the international herd book.
Taronga Zoo Sydney is delighted to announce the birth of a female Pygmy Hippo calf, the first calf born at the Zoo in over four years. The calf was born on Monday, November 22 to experienced parents Kambiri and Fergus and is doing swimmingly!
Whilst the calf is still perfecting the art of walking and in some instances waddling, she is spending most of her time in an off-exhibit nursery den, under the watchful eye of her mum, Kambiri.
Sherman, The Smithsonian National Zoo’s screaming hairy armadillo, goes *wild* for enrichment toys! Magical moments like these happen here every day, inspiring awe and “aww.” Donate today, and your gift will be matched up to $20,000—that’s twice the support to care for National Zoo’s amazing animal ambassadors, like Sherman. ❤️🎁 GIVE A GIFT TO THE ANIMALS: https://s.si.edu/3kVqKSJ. . . . #GivingTuesday #WeSaveSpecies #GivingZooDay
A blue-crowned pigeon chick hatched in the Wings of Asia aviary at Santa Barbara Zoo on November 7, 2021.
The chick’s sire (father) transferred to the Zoo in late May of this year and was introduced to Helga (dam/mother), and the two hit it off immediately! They have been nesting nearly all summer in preparation for their precious cargo.
The chick was born with no feathers, but at 15 days old, it already has a mini crest like its parents!
Parents take turns sitting on the nest and feed the chick by regurgitating (bringing up swallowed food).
The whole family is visible in Wings of Asia, so be sure to stop by to take a peek at the pigeons on your next visit to the Zoo.
We don’t know if a chick is a boy or girl until its first exam, which is around 45-60 days of age. Latest breaking news: we found out the chick is a boy!