The last of the goat kids have arrived at Zoo Krefeld in Germany. The zoo now has eleven juvenile goats—what a handful! Energetic and playful, they're up to all kinds of mischief, like climbing all over mom.

Photo credit: Vera Gorissen / Zoo Krefeld

See more photos after the fold. 

One year after their arrival at Zoo Berlin in Germany, a pair of Palawan Bengal Cats has had a litter of two! The two kittens, a male and a female, have been named Ilian and Taytay, after two places on the island of Palawan, the island in the Philippines where this subspecies of the Leopard Cat originates. 

Ilian and Taytay are very special cats: they are the first offspring of Zoo Berlin's breeding program for this subspecies, which is listed as Vulnerable to extinction by the Interantional Union for Conservation of Nature. Zoo Berlin is currently one of only two zoos outside of the Philippines to house Palawan Bengal Cats. The zoo is working to establish a breeding program that will build up a healthy population of Palawan Bengal Cats across zoos. Members of this captive-bred population can eventually be reintroduced on Palawan, to help the wild population recover. In the fall, once they are mature, Ilian and Taytay will move to Prague Zoo and Pilsen Zoo in the Czech Republic. 

Photo credit: Zoo Berlin

Taronga Zoo in Australia is celebrating the arrival of its second Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat joey in three years, a breeding success story that could also help the Critically Endangered Northern Hairy-nosed Wombat.

The female joey, which has been named Sydney, has just begun venturing outside mom Korra’s pouch at eight months old, to the delight of keepers and visitors.

Photo credit: Taronga Zoo

Keeper Brett Finlayson said the birth was particularly exciting as Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats are notoriously difficult to breed.

“Compatibility and timing seem to be crucial ingredients for success, as the female is only receptive to the male for a 12-hour window. Korra and our male, Noojee, have proven to be a great pairing as this is their second joey in three years,” said Brett.

See photos and learn more after the fold.

A Reindeer calf born on April 27 is the first ever born at the Stone Zoo in Massachusetts and is already in the exhibit with mother Holly and father Cornelius.

Photo Credit:  Zoo New England/Dayle Sullivan Taylor
The newborn male Reindeer, which weighs 15 pounds, appeared healthy, bright and alert at his first well-baby examination. As with any new birth, the veterinary and animal management staffs are closely monitoring the mother and baby. 

“We are thrilled to share news of this exciting birth,” said John Linehan, Zoo New England President and CEO. “Holly is a protective first-time mother and she is being very attentive to her newborn calf. The baby has been standing and walking, and he is nursing well. Visitors are going to take great delight in watching this baby grow up.”

The gestation period for Reindeer is about 7 months. Pregnant Reindeer do not shed their antlers until a few days to a week after giving birth. Reindeer are the only species of cervid (member of the deer family) where both males and females have antlers.

The Reindeer is one of 36 species of deer in the world. These animals can be found in the arctic tundra, as well as in boreal forests in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. They have been domesticated in Scandinavia for thousands of years. The Reindeer has two thick coats – an outer coat and undercoat – that help it stay warm in cold temperatures. The Reindeer’s two-toed hooves help prevent slips and falls in icy conditions. Reindeer are herbivores and feed on leaves, bark, moss and lichen.

A trio of Sand Cats was born in April at the Czech Republic’s Zoo Brno.  The genders of the kittens are not yet known. These petite cats weigh less than seven pounds (3.2 kg) as adults.

Photo Credit:  Zoo Brno

These cats are native to northern Africa and southwestern Asia.  They are the only wild cats living in true deserts, often far from water.  Thick fur protects their paws from the hot desert sand.  In extreme heat, they duck into burrows dug by foxes or porcupines, but they can also tolerate very cold temperatures. 

Sand Cats hunt small rodents, primarily at night.  Their hearing is extremely well developed, allowing them to detect prey underground.  Studies have shown that Sand Cats travel three to six miles (5-10 km) each night in search of prey. 

Though not currently threatened, Sand Cats live in fragile environments and are not legally protected within some countries.  They are bred in zoos as part of the European Endangered Species Programme.

Success! As a result of a special breeding program, two endangered Galápagos Tortoises have hatched at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Australia. The tiny tortoises emerged from their shells on January 24 and 26.

These hatchlings follow the zoo's breakthrough breeding achievement in 2011 when Taronga Western Plains Zoo became the first zoo in Australasia to successfully breed Galápagos Tortoise. Now three years old, RJ weighs about 2.4 pounds (1100 g). 

Photo credit: Taronga Western Plains Zoo

One of the longest-living vertebrates, Galápagos Tortoises can live for over 100 years in the wild and reach weights of around 880 pounds (400 kg) and lenghths of up to 5 feet (1.5 m). They are found only on the Galápagos archipelago, west of continental Ecuador. 

Now a protected species, Galápagos Tortoises were reduced by centuries of exploitation as a food source for sailors. Today, only about 15,000 remain in the wild. Released tortoises from captive breeding programs, as well as efforts to restore habitat and manage competing species, are helping to revive populations in the wild. 

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This tiny chick might currently look more like a Brillo Pad than an exotic bird – but it’s soon going to scrub up well! Twenty-one-day-old Kola is one of two rare White-naped Pheasant Pigeons to have hatched at Chester Zoo in England, where they are receiving around-the-clock care in their early days.

After being rejected by their parents, the chicks are being hand-reared by keepers who have devised a special diet suited to their needs. And amusingly, given their startling resemblance to Brillo Pads, keepers are actually using scouring pads to help look after their new charges.

Photo credit: Steve Rawlins / Chester Zoo

Keeper Gareth Evans (pictured above) says, “Hand-feeding them is a tricky business but we use a scouring pad to make things a little easier. It gives them something to grip onto to make sure they don’t slip and slide around, helping their feet and legs to develop properly. Normally they’d be on a nest on the ground made up of lots of little sticks and twigs so a scouring pad acts to create the grip they’d get from the nest.

“Adult Pheasant Pigeons produce a unique crop milk which they regurgitate to feed to their young. So when we have to hand-rear we have to try and replicate that using a set of special ingredients, featuring egg, water and vitamin pellets. I give Kola his first feed of the day at 6am and his last is at 10pm. So I really am playing the full-time parent.”

In the wild, White-naped Pheasant Pigeons only inhabit the Aru Islands, close to Papua in Indonesia.

See and learn more after the fold.