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February 2010

January 2010

Newborn Giraffe Calf Finds Her Feet

At approximately 11:30 Thursday morning, the Memphis Zoo welcomed a female baby reticulated giraffe. This is the Zoo’s fourth baby giraffe in four years, following the births of “Angela Kate” in 2006 and “Kofi” and “Sesi” in 2008.  This is the second baby for mom “Marilyn” and the fourth sired by dad “Kenya.”  This addition brings the Zoo’s giraffe herd to a total of seven. Zookeepers have named her "Akili" meaning smart in Swahili. She is 6'3" and about 150 lbs. She is strong and healthy.

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Top Photo by Mark Weber/The Commercial Appeal Bottom Two Photos Courtesy of The Memphis Zoo


Germany's Road-Tripping Gorilla Infant Rides Shotgun!

In breaking baby gorilla news, 6-month-old Claudia has moved from Germany's Allwetter Zoo to the Wilhelma Zoo. The change comes as the baby's mother Gana passed away in January, leaving behind no suitable surrogate. Representatives from the Allwetter Zoo assured us that, despite their sadness over losing Claudia, they couldn't hope for a better home than the Wilhelma Zoo nursery.

Bärbel Uphoff + Claudia_klein Claudia clearly called "shotgun" for her first ever roadtrip cross-country!

Dgorillakind_claudia_im_allwetterzooClaudia in her element at the Allwetter Zoo, shortly before departing for Wilhelma.

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Frolicking Brown Bears at the Bronx Zoo

Meet the newest residents of the Bronx Zoo - a furry foursome - one young grizzly and three brown bear cubs - rescued seperately in Montana and Alaska. Having just arrived in their new home they are clearly enjoying themselves, running, splashing, and playing even in the cold. Watch the big cubs frolic in this heartwarming video.

Brown bear cubs bronx zoo 2 rs2 Photo credits: Julie Larsen 

For information on these lovable, playful bears, visit the Bronx Zoo's special page for the foursome. 


Checking in with Melbourne's Wild-Eyed Elephant Calf

Melbourne Zoo's first Asian Elephant calf remains in the elephant barn with her mother Dokkoon. The birth was difficult and exhausting for Dokkoon who has spent the first week since her calf was born recovering. The calf is alert, active and playful, however, this is still a critical period for the newborn calf. Both mum and baby are still being monitored round the clock by Zoo staff.

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Shy Maned Wolf Pups at Paignton Zoo

The UK's Paignton Zoo recently welcomed three little Maned Wolf pups to mother wolf Maya and father Smolis. Shy and elusive, Maned Wolves are hard to see in the wild and are often bashful in captivity as well. South America's largest wolf, this species lives in monogamous pairs rather than in packs like other wolf species.

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Maned wolf pup paignton zoo 3 rs2Photo credits: Ray Wiltshire

Continue reading "Shy Maned Wolf Pups at Paignton Zoo" »


Albino "Carpincho" at M'Bopicua

On Christmas Day, Uruguay's M'Bopicua Breeding Station welcomed two little capybaras, or "carpinchos" as they are known in Spanish. One of the little girls turned out to be an albino and was named "Snow White."  Although she looks suspiciously like a big guinea pig as an infant, as an adult she could grow to be over four feet long and over 230 lbs. (note: an average capybara only weighs around 100 lbs. in adulthood but maybe Snow White will be extra well fed...).

Albino capybara mbopicua 1 rs Albino capybara mbopicua 2 rs Albino capybara mbopicua 3 rs