Brookfield Zoo has a new resident out of the pouch and exploring more every day: a male Hairy-nosed Wombat baby (called a joey). Born in the summer of 2010 to mom Kambora, the little fellow developed in the pouch following a gestation period of approximately 21 days. Immediately after birth, the tiny joey crawled into Kambora's pouch, where he slept and nursed for approximately nine months getting all the tasty nutrients he needed for proper development. In 1974, Brookfield Zoo was home to the first Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat born outside of Australia. Since then, there have been 15 successful wombat births at Brookfield Zoo. Currently, Brookfield Zoo is one of only four zoos in North America to exhibit Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats.

Photo and video credits: Brookfield Zoo

For the first time last week, mama Polar Bear "Malik" coaxed her three month old cub out of their cozy den for a little outdoor adventure at Denmark's Aalborg Zoo. Since Zoo veterinarians have not yet been able to safely examine the cub, the sex is still undetermined. In the wild Polar Bears most often hunt along the edges of sea ice. Unfortunately global warming threatens the bears' habitat and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the Polar Bear as vulnerable to extinction.

Photo credits: Sussi Køber / Aalborg Zoo

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A set of new spots and striping has appeared at the Woodland Park Zoo with the birth of an Ocelot! A single kitten, seen here at 3 weeks old, was born on January 15 to 10-year-old mother Bella and 15-year-old father Brazil. At this early stage, keepers want to minimize disturbance and physical contact outside of quick health check-ups to give the new family time to naturally bond. So for now, the mother and kitten are off public view in a dark birthing den and keepers are monitoring their progress via infrared camera. Read the full story at the Zoo's blog!

Photos by Jamie Delk/Woodland Park Zoo. Video produced by Ryan Hawk/Woodland Park Zoo.

On Tuesday, we shared San Diego Zoo's news that it welcomed a Royal Antelope calf. We saw that folks couldn't seem to get enough of this little one, so we've shared some additional images of the calf bottle-feeding and exploring the outdoors. UPDATE: Check out this great video just released by the SD Zoo!

Photo credits: San Diego Zoo

On January 26, Israel's Ramat Gan Safari announced the birth of a rare, adorable red-haired baby girl. Just like humans, the gene for red hair amongst Hamadryas Baboons is recessive and it was exactly 30 years ago when the last red-haired baboon was born at the old Tel Aviv Zoo. Mom's name is "Scud" as she was born 20 years ago during the Gulf War.

While Scud's rank within the group is not very high, this new baby strengthens her position. The dominant male now spends a lot of time grooming her. He is very curious about the baby girl but Scud is cautious. When he tries to touch the baby, Scud relocates and keeps her distance.

Photo credits: Tibor Jäger 

After three long but cozy months in the den, Al Ain Wildlife Park's African Wild Dog pups are now ready to frolic in the sun. All six pups have emerged happy and healthy and are learning how to hunt from their parents and other pack members. With their numbers dramatically reduced in the wild due to human persecution, habitat loss, decline in prey and disease spread by domestic dogs, these births mark a great success for Al Ain's Desert Carnivore Conservation & Breeding Programme. 

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On February 8, the San Diego Zoo welcomed a tiny male Royal Antelope calf, weighing just 17 ounces! The decision was made to hand-feed the calf after it displayed a low body temperarture and wasn't feeding shortly after birth. The nipple on the calf's baby bottle had to be specially made to fit his tiny antelope mouth. In April, 2003 San Diego became the first zoo in the Western Hemisphere to have a Royal Antelope birth. These shy nocturnal Antelope are the smallest Antelope species, measuring just 10-12 inches high and weighing only 9-10 pounds when fully grown.

Photo credits: San Diego Zoo

On October 5 an egg hatched at Adelaide Zoo in South Australia and out popped a Palm Cockatoo chick with a face that only a mother Palm Cockatoo could love! She has since grown into a gorgeous bird! This is the first successful Zoo birth of a Palm Cockatoo in Australia since 1973 and Adelaide Zoo is the only Zoo in Australia to house Palm Cockatoos.  Adelaide Zoo keepers decided to take the egg away from her parents as they had a poor history of incubating their own eggs.  The egg was then placed in an incubator and once hatched the chick was cared for by keepers.  For the first few weeks of her life she needed feeding every hour and a half.  This kept the keepers very busy who in turn took her home over night for those 2am feeds!  Since the Palm Cockatoo are native to warm regions such as northern Queensland, Australia, New Guinea island in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, the chick had to be kept at a constant temperature of 35C/95F degrees during her early development.

Photo credits: Adelaide Zoo

Zookeepers at the Santa Barbara Zoo were somewhat surprised but certainly delighted to discover that one of the Zoo’s new Masai Giraffes, Audrey, had given birth to a male calf on Sunday morning, January 9. The calf, named Daniel by donors, was measured at 5-feet 9-inches tall and 106 pounds. He will not be on view to the public for several weeks until he learns to come in from the Giraffe yard to the barn for feedings by keepers. “Unbeknownst to us, Audrey arrived in Santa Barbara in March 2010 approximately five months pregnant,” notes Sheri Horiszny, Director of Animal Programs. “Nothing in her records indicated that Los Angeles Zoo keepers had ever seen their male showing interest in her or attempting to breed her.”

Photo credits: Sheri Horiszny / Santa Barbara Zoo

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo announced the birth of a baby Francois’ Langur on January 25, 2011. Just like human infants, baby primates can often be demanding little bundles of joy, as evidenced in these pictures. The sex of the baby is yet to be determined, but the noisy little orange furball is currently on exhibit in The RainForest with mother Petunia, father Ike and brother Maynard, who was born in April 2009. Lucky for mom, two other adult females in the Zoo’s Langur group -- Mei Mei and Leilu -- share in the parenting duties as they would in the wild.

Photo credits: Cleveland MetroParks Zoo

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