A tiny female Pudu fawn was born at the Detroit Zoo on September 7 to parents T. Roy and Carol.  Weighing only 2.3 pounds (1.06 kg) at birth, the diminutive deer is the fourth Pudu born at the zoo since 2008.

Due to habitat loss, Pudus are listed as Threatened by the IUCN.  Many programs are underway to protect Pudus from possible extinction, including releasing Pudus born in South American zoos back to their wild habitat.

Pudus are the world's smallest deer species.  Weighing only about 26 pounds and standing 15 inches at the shoulder as adults, Pudus live in South America's temperate rain forests.  They feed on leaves and fruit as they move through the dense underbrush, and rarely need to drink due to the high water content of their diet.  Little is konwn about Pudus in the wild, because they inhabit remote regions on mountain slopes at relatively high elevations over 6,000 feet.  Despite their small size, they are agile climbers and jumpers.

Photo & Video Credits:  Lee Ann Fisher & Patti Truesdell

The Gladys Porter Zoo is tickled pink to introduce Paige, Chico, and Angela, three baby Chilean Flamingos that hatched earlier this month.  They are the first Chilean Flamingos to hatch at Gladys Porter Zoo in ten years.

Paige emerged from her egg on September 2, 2012. Chico hatched on September 7, and Angela followed soon after on September 8.

In early August, Jesse Olvera, Head Keeper in the Bird Department, traveled to Sea World in San Antonio to obtain the eight eggs that Sea World graciously donated to the zoo. The eggs were artificially incubated for 28-30 days under the watchful eye of the Bird Department.

Though the eggs arrived at the zoo together, the eggs were laid by different parents. Of the eight eggs, three hatched. 

Flamingo eggs must be monitored closely due to their permeable shells. Humidity and temperature must be adjusted and checked regularly, and the eggs must be rotated every four hours to ensure a healthy hatching.

Flamingo chicks have downy grey feathers.  It will take roughly two years before they take on the light pink color of adult Flamingos. 

Photo Credits:  Gladys Porter Zoo

The Lincoln Children's Zoo in Nebraska is celebrating the birth of twin Red Pandas, the first to be born at the zoo in 25 years.  The twins are two of only 17 Red Pandas born in U.S. zoos in 2012. 

At age 15, the twins' father is the oldest proven breeder among captive Red Pandas, according to Zoo Director John Chapo.  Prior to this successful birth, the oldest male proven breeder was 12 years old. 

The twins, born earlier this summer, still spend most of their time in the nest box with their mother Sophie. 

Red Pandas are critically endangered in their native Himalayan habitat and the zoo population is an important component of Red Panda conservation efforts.

Photo Credits:  Lincoln Children's Zoo

Two baby Coatis are charming visitors at the U.K.’s Exmoor Zoo. The pair was born earlier this month.  Native to Central and South America, Coatis use their long, flexible snout to search for insects, spiders, fruit, and small animals. 

As close relatives of raccoons, Coatis exhibit agility, intelligence, and adaptability.  They can be found in a variety of habitats, from tropical rain forests to high mountain slopes. Coatis commonly forage on the forest floor, using their pig-like snout to push aside leaf litter as they look for food.  They are easily identified by their long, striped tail.  Coatis may travel in loose groups of up to 25 individuals.

While not listed as threatened, Coatis face pressures from habitat destruction and unregulated hunting.

Photo Credit:  Exmoor Zoo

The first Greater One-horned Rhinoceros born in Texas now has a name: Asha. More than 3,300 Fort Worth Zoo Facebook fans chose from the five names selected by Zoo staff that reflected the baby Rhino’s personality and heritage. Asha, Nepalese for “hope,” was the front-runner from the start, receiving more than half of the total votes.

Carrie Shiflet Ferguson was chosen as the grand prize winner of the naming contest. She was chosen randomly among the Facebook fans who voted for the winning name, and will receive a greater one-horned rhino adoption package and a family four-pack of admission tickets to the Fort Worth Zoo.

Photo credit: Fort Worth Zoo

Asha, born August 16, 2012, has joined mother Shanti and sire Arun in the Fort Worth Zoo’sAsian Falls exhibit. The Greater One-horned Rhino is one of 43 endangered species at the Fort Worth Zoo. The Zoo’s greater One-horned Rhinos are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan, a program created to manage a sustainable population of endangered species in AZA zoos. The International Rhino Foundation lists the greater one-horned rhino as endangered.

Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium's endangered Sumatran Tiger Cub that you may have first read about on ZooBorns is growing by leaps and bounds! Born on August 22, he's now over 10 pounds (4.53 kg) at five weeks old.

The Sumatran Tiger is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra where only an estimated 300 remain in the wild. This little guy can be seen daily on exhibit exploring and playing daily in the zoo’s Cub Den. If you want to help name him, there's only one week left in which to vote, so make sure to pick one of the six names on the list today at www.surveymonkey.com/s/cubname.

Photo Credit: Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

See the first video of the cub, taken when he was just three weeks old!

More pictures after the jump:

Dublin Zoo is delighted to announce the birth of two Red Panda cubs.  The twins were born in June, however before this week they only ventured out of their den at night. Both female cubs were born to parents Angelina and Chota, who gave birth to another set of twins this time last year.  Team Leader Eddie O’Brien said, “Red pandas are endangered in the wild so we are over the moon that this is the second litter born at Dublin Zoo within a year. They are both doing very well and getting more adventurous and confident as they can be seen exploring their habitat during the day now.”

Photo credit: Dublin Zoo

On September 1 this little Red River Hog was born in a padded corner nest filled with wood shavings at the Berlin Zoo. Mom Dagmba lay on her side to encourage the baby to nurse, and somehow the baby, who did not have to fight with any siblings or share milk, ended up choosing the most out-of-reach teat. 

This lively little one, named Tonka by his keepers, has already begun to follow his mother outside into their habitat when the weather permits. When mom sits down or stops, Tonka hugs her side, where he feels safest. The rest of the gang, Boar pig Kivu, Tomu and sow Gundi, are curious, but the baby will not be introduced to them for a few more days; Keepers are letting mom and baby be for now, to ensure further bonding and to give Tonka the time to grown stronger and bigger before romping with the rest.

Hogs are native to West and Central Africa. With its reddish coat, dark face mask, white beard and conspicuous ear tufts, they are among the most colorful mammals. In zoos, the population trends of the Red River hogs are controlled by conservation breeding programs such as the one at Berlin Zoo.

Photo Credits: Berlin Zoo

Keepers at The Netherlands' Burgers' Zoo were surprised by the early birth of a baby White Rhino on Saturday. 12-year-old female, Kwanzaa, and her new calf Vince are stable and healthy, according to zoo officials. Of the five rhino species in existence, White Rhinoceros are the most social. They are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.

Photo credit: Burger's Zoo

This little Tree Kangaroo Joey has been getting a glimpse of the world for a few weeks now, much to the delight of all at Beauval Zoo. Among the 4600 animals at the zoo, there are many species that are rare, threatened, or unique in France. Their Tree Kangaroos are one, and Mom Ruby can be seen on exhibit with the little reddish-brown head -- and sometimes a pair of paws -- of her look-alike baby sticking out of her pouch. 

Tree Kangaroos are marsupials like koalas, but are very different from their terrestrial cousins. Kangaroo joeys are born roughly the size of a lima bean and crawl from the birth canal to the warmth and safety of their mother's pouch. There they lock on to a teat and spend an average of between six to eight months growing, until one day their little noses peek out into the world. It's thought this baby began that process in late January. He is the only joey of his kind born in 2012, giving hope to this species which is threatened in the wild.

Photo Credit: Zoo de Beauval