To Our Readers, 

A sincere thank you for an incredible year. We hope you enjoyed our bright-eyed little friends. We also hope you learned something about the important work conducted at zoos and aquariums around the world to protect these species in the wild.

We leave you with the residents of the Smithsonian National Zoo's Small Mammal House enjoying special winter treats. See you in 2010!

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Credits: Mehgan Murphy / Smithsonian National Zoo

Species in order from top to bottom: Prehensile-tailed Porcupine, Slender-tailed Meerkat, Black-And-Rufous Elephant Shrew, Golden Lion Tamarin, and one last pic of the porcu chowing down. 

Outstanding photographer Tambako the Jaguar captured pictures of Zoo Zurich's new wolf cubs earlier this summer. The Grey Wolf and its subspecies once ranged over most of North America, Europe and Asia but have been pushed to the northern boundaries of most of these continents by habitat destruction and eradication efforts. These wolves share a common ancestry with domestic dogs, although how you get from here to a chihuahua is something we would love to see time lapse photography of.

  

This past summer, the Puerto Vallarta Zoo in Mexico welcomed three tiger cubs. Bengal Tigers are an endangered subspecies of tiger although sadly they are the most populous of all tigers, with about 2,000 estimated in the wild. Programs like the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Save the Tiger Fund work to address the environmental and economic challenges that threaten the remaining Bengal Tigers.

 

More recent pictures below thanks to Strange Bird

 

This past Sunday the Niabi Zoo in the Quad Cities area, welcomed a new baby giraffe calf. The baby was expected later in the week and staff were surprised to meet the new baby boy when they went in for a routine check on the mother Mimi. After the baby has matured, he will most likely move to another AZA insitution as part of the interzoo breeding program.

Born on November 27, 2009, a snowy white Kikuyu colobus monkey was a welcome holiday surprise for the Los Angeles Zoo!  The gender of the furry primate has yet to be determined, but at birth it weighed about a pound and measured around eight inches long.

 

Because breeding is closely monitored to comply with the Species Survival Program and the L.A. Zoo's colobus monkeys are genetically well represented in zoos, the mother was placed on implant contraceptives in October 2008.  They were meant to be effective for a period of two years. Oops!

Colobus monkeys live in highly cohesive social groups so despite the "unplanned" nature of the event, father, mother and another adult female are all playing attentive and supportive roles.  

 

The L.A. Zoo is inviting visitors to participate in a naming contest for the newborn through January 11, 2010, so if you live in Southern California, or have been looking for an excuse to visit (like naming a baby monkey) now's your chance. The winner will receive a free behind-the-scenes-tour of the Zoo for up to six people!

Born November 29th at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, this baby Mandrill sticks close to mom making good pictures difficult. These photos taken by zoo staffers Darlene Campbell and Patricia Scanlan show the trademark ridged muzzle. This vulnerable species is actually the world's largest monkey. 

 

 

 

Crab-eating Raccoons are native to marshy areas of Central and South America. Smaller than their more commonly known North American cousins, they eat all sorts of tasty aquatic and non-aquatic critters, in addition to crabs. These little raccoon kits, also called cubs, were born at Uruguay's M'Bopicuá Breeding Station this past July.  

    

Australia's Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Frank Sartor announced Wednesday that the festive spirit would be spread to Taronga Zoo when animals receive special Christmas treats. “Each day Taronga’s Keepers change the way food is presented to the animals to stimulate and encourage them to forage, but today will have a Christmas twist,” Mr Sartor said. Today, 10 month old Wallaby Jolene enjoys her very first Christmas.

  Photos Courtesy of Lorinda Taylor/Taronga Zoo

Idaho's Zoo Boise proudly announces the newest member of the family - a cotton-top tamarin baby. The female tamarin was born at Zoo Boise on November 6, 2009. Tamarins are small primates from South America; the baby is the first tamarin born at Zoo Boise... (Lead 2 Photos by Shawn Raecke/Idaho Statesman)

After the jump: More photos and a Q & A with The Idaho Statesman

On Monday, The Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich, Germany welcomed Jamuna Toni, a newborn elephant. The baby was born with a weight of 112 kilograms. That's over 246 pounds! The press got a good glimpse of her yesterday and she's clearly a playful "little" thing.