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January 2009
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February 2009

New Born Giraffe Molly has a Close Call

Born just 3 days ago at the Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, MA, Molly, the baby giraffe calf had a rocky start.  Her mother wasn't producing milk and Molly was weak and unable to suckle.  With some quick action on the part of the zoo and some veterinary specialists at Tuft's Grafton School of Veterinary Medicine, it was determined that the baby suffered from dehydration and a low white blood cell count.

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They pushed antibiotics through a catheter into her long neck and hand-fed her bottles of goat's milk. Now, 24 hours later, Molly appears to be thriving, hospital staff said.

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Molly will stay at the hospital through the weekend, but the zoo is looking forward to her return, and so are we!  Hang in there Molly!

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(Tufts University Cummings School Photos)

A video about Molly's progress is below the fold...

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Red Panda Season

More Red Pandas, this time from Australia's Perth Zoo. Making their first public appearance today, the playful pandas seemed to enjoy the attention. The cubs are happy and healthy and have an attentive mother in Chori, who shuttles her cubs between all three nesting boxes in the exhibit. It's nice to have vacation homes.

Perth zoo baby red pandas 1 

Perth zoo baby red pandas 2

Above photos courtesy of the Perth Zoo

Perth zoo baby red pandas 3
Above photo credit: Kerris Berrington

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Roly Poly Red Panda Cubs

Red Pandas are only distantly related to their better known black and white Giant Panda cousins, but they do share the panda name and a love of bamboo. While these little furballs were born back in June of 2008 at the Red River Zoo in North Dakota, they are news to us here at ZooBorns and we figured we should share them. Named Xiao Li (male) and Li Ming (female), more pictures and information are available on the Zoo's Red Panda blog.

3-4 weeks old

Red panda cubs 3-4 weeks

Li Ming at 1 week
Red panda cub li ming 1 week

Xiao Li (meaning Little Beauty) at 1 week
Red panda cub xiao1 week

5 days old and squeaking away!

Sleepy red pandas at 4 weeks
Red panda cubs 4 weeks

A mischievous Li Ming at 2 monthsLei ming baby red panda 5 weeks

Looking like adults at 4 monthsBaby red panda cubs 4 months


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Tiny Turtle at the Bristol Zoo

Smaller than a matchbook (see picture below if you don't believe us) and weighing just 15 grams or the same as a few paper clips, this Chinese box turtle was born a few weeks ago at Bristol Zoo Gardens. Endangered due to overhunting for meat and medicinal purposes, Chinese box turtles are quite social and congregate in groups. In captivity they have been known to live up to 50 years.

Chinese box turtle baby hatchling 1

Chinese box turtle baby hatchling 2

Hatching in mud can be messy...

Chinese box turtle hatching from egg 3

Thanks to ZB reader Meredyth for bring this to our attention.

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Tawny Frogmouth Chicks

Meet Hoover and Sawyer, the two tawny frogmouth chicks hatched just last month at SeaWorld, Orlando. Often confused with owls, the tawny frogmouth is weaker and, frankly, lazier than most owls and is native to Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. Well camouflaged, tawny frogmouths are so named because of their ridiculously wide beaks, already readily apparent on tiny Hoover and Sawyer.

Tawny Frogmouth Chicks at SeaWorld Orlando 3

Tawny Frogmouth Chicks at SeaWorld Orlando 5

Tawny Frogmouth Chicks at SeaWorld Orlando 6 

Tawny Frogmouth Chicks at SeaWorld Orlando 4
Photo credits:  Jason Collier, SeaWorld Orlando 

More pics below if you click Continue reading.

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Double Trouble Leopard Cubs

The French Museum of Natural History unveiled two adorable new arrivals in late January. Wei and Xun are six week old Chinese leopard cub brothers who appear strong and healthy. As seen in these photos and video, Wei is not shy about human attention, but mama Orly has other ideas.  

Chinese panther parisian zoo

Chinese panther parisian zoo close up


Thanks to Liz C for bringing these guys to our attention via Jezebel. Photo credits FG GRANDIN / AFP / Getty Images