The reptile team, at Cotswold Wildlife Park, is celebrating the arrival of three Electric Blue Gecko babies. 

Photo Credits: Cotswold Wildlife Park

It is the first time the park has successfully bred this species. Electric Blue Geckos are only found in a small area in Tanzania and are classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Survival for these striking creatures in the wild is fraught with peril. They inhabit less than eight square kilometers of the Kimboza Forest in Tanzania, within which they exclusively dwell in the leaf crowns of one specific tree (Pandanus rabaiensis). Tragically, these beautiful lizards are in high demand from the illegal pet trade, which alone wiped out at least 15% of the population in Kimboza Forest between 2004 and 2009. Illegal collectors cut down the Pandanus rabaiensis trees to collect the rare geckos, destroying their delicate habitat and population numbers at the same time.  They also face severe habitat loss from illegal logging, agricultural demands and climate change. Based on a recent study, this species is considered to be threatened with extinction in the near future.

Curator of Cotswold Wildlife Park, Jamie Craig, commented, “Our specialist Reptile Department has been working on perfecting their husbandry techniques with this species, and these hatchlings are an excellent reward for their dedication. It is a real achievement for the park and we are continuing to get eggs and have a high success rate.”

They are a brand new species to the park. Not long after their arrival, the reptile team noticed tiny eggs in the corner of their off-show enclosure. After approximately sixty to ninety days, three tiny Electric Blue Geckos hatched. The babies are healthy and currently off-show in climate-controlled incubators.

Taronga Zoo has a new addition to their Squirrel Monkey family! The tiny male can be seen holding tight to his mother ‘Lena’s’ back as she leaps around the exhibit.

Photo Credits: Lisa Ridley (Images 1,5); Madeleine Smitham (Images 2,3,4,6)

The weeks-old youngster has been named ‘Julio’, and keepers say he and Lena are doing extremely well.

This is the first infant to be born out of the introduction of Taronga’s male, ‘Chico’, to 12 female Squirrel Monkeys from France, last year, through the regional breeding program.

Primate keeper, Suzie Lemon, says, “Lena and baby are doing amazingly well. A lot of the female Squirrel Monkeys have been interacting with the baby, and our two oldest Squirrel Monkeys, ‘Ayaca’ and ‘Squirius’, have been showing a lot of interest by vocalizing at him and rubbing up against him.”

Julio is developing very quickly. “He has already been seen climbing on ropes by himself with all four legs, with just his tail holding onto mum.

“In the next few weeks we’ll see other females start to carry him around and nanny him a bit, then he’ll slowly start to explore on his own,” said Suzie.

The Sloth Sanctuary, in Costa Rica, is currently home to 24 orphaned baby sloths. 

Photo Credits: Sloth Sanctuary

‘Issy’, an orphaned Choloepus Sloth, was recently photographed during her daily weigh-in. With those who are not gaining weight properly, daily monitoring is essential to the special care they receive. As they grow and prosper, the weight checks are scaled back.

Due to the increasing number of orphans arriving at the Sloth Sanctuary, there was a need to relocate and expand their juvenile nursery. Their improved, larger installation features a new exercise area and more dedicated space for daily weighing, cleaning and feeding routine. The babies are taken to the new area daily for climbing practice, which is an essential lesson that aids their motor skill development. Agility allows them to forage more effectively, and, if they are released, it helps provide the skills needed to avoid hazards, such as dogs and workers clearing the forest.

Keepers at Great Britain’s Port Lympne Reserve are celebrating as not one but three litters of endangered African Painted Dog puppies make their public debut.

Photo Credit:  Dave Rolfe


The puppies, a mix of males and females, are now three months old and bring the number of African Painted Dogs at the reserve to 43, split between five packs.

Adrian Harland, Animal Director, explained that a recent health check showed that all the pups are strong and healthy.  Keepers administered vaccinations and weighed each pup.

African Painted Dogs are one of the most effective hunters in the world and will normally live in packs of 20 to 40 members. Found mainly in Southern Africa, experts estimate that as few as 3,000 African Painted Dogs remain in the wild.  Conflicts with humans encroaching on their habitat, illegal hunting, and risk of disease are all factors in their decline.

Breeding programs in zoos and reserves are important to the future of this unique species.

See more photos of the puppies below.

An Amur Tiger cub at Germany’s Zoo Berlin made her media debut last week.  The cub, named Alisha, is the only member of her litter to survive.

Photo Credit:  Zoo Berlin

In December, three cubs were born to female Aurora and her mate, Darius, the third litter for this pair.  Unfortunately, two of the cubs did not survive.  When keepers observed that the remaining cub was in poor condition, they decided to hand-raise her.

Little Alisha is thriving under the keepers’ care.  For now, she spends much of her time sleeping, but zoo officials expect Alisha to move onto exhibit within a few weeks.

Amur Tigers, also known as Siberian Tigers, are the largest of the six surviving Tiger subspecies.  Native to far eastern Russia, the population of Amur Tigers dropped to fewer than 50 cats in the 1940s.  Today, thanks to improved law enforcement against illegal hunting, there are now nearly 400 Amur Tigers in the wild.  While Amur Tigers are still listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, scientists are hopeful that the upward trend will continue for these magnificent cats.

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo, in Syracuse, New York, recently announced that three new Humboldt Penguin chicks had hatched in the last three weeks.

Photo Credits: Maria Simmons/Rosamond Gifford Zoo

The zoo’s 40^th chick hatched on January 9 to ‘Mario’ and ‘Montaña’ and weighed 79 grams. The 41^st chick hatched on January 17 to ‘Frederico’ and ‘Poquita’ and weighed 65 grams. The 42^nd chick hatched on January 21 to ‘Frederico’ and ‘Poquita’ and weighed 61 grams.

Zoo staff were able to determine a gender for the 41^st chick, and it’s a girl! Staff asked local County Executive, Joanie Mahoney, to help name the chick. She chose ‘Lucia’, which means “light.”

Ted Fox, zoo director, said, “The Rosamond Gifford Zoo continues to play an important role in conserving Humboldt Penguins. Penguins from our colony will travel to other zoos and aquariums to ensure efforts to continue populating the species.”

Humboldt Penguins live along the coast of Peru and Chile in the Humboldt Current. They are endangered, with an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 surviving in the wild.The three chicks will remain under the care of their parents until they are weaned.  They will join the rest of the colony on exhibit at the zoo’s Penguin Coast, later this spring.

Two Maned Wolf pups were born December 21^st at the Little Rock Zoo and are growing strong! 

Photo Credits: Paul Caster

The pups’ parents are ‘Gabby’ and ‘Diego’. Gabby occasionally takes her pups out into the yard of her exhibit, allowing visitors to catch a glimpse every so often. The pups are expected to fully be out on exhibit in the next two to three months.

The Maned Wolf is a South American native whose range extends from the Amazon basin rain forest in Brazil to the dry shrub forests of Paraguay and northern Argentina.

Maned Wolves have chestnut red pelage over rather large bodies, and black pelage on their long, slender legs, feet and muzzle. They have long red fur covering necks, backs, and chests which they can stand on end to give the appearance of a mane.

The Maned Wolf also differs from true North American wolves in diet and temperament. These gentle and very timid wolves are solitary by nature. Only during the breeding season would you generally see more than one at a time.

The Maned Wolf is omnivorous, eating a combination of fruits, vegetables and meat. It often preys on small birds, rodents and frogs, and favors fruits such as bananas, apples and avocados.

The Maned Wolf is misunderstood and widely persecuted. For years it was hunted and killed by farmers who believed that the wolves were killing their poultry and livestock. The Maned Wolf’s small teeth and jaws make it hard for it to kill large prey, but it is often blamed because of its intimidating size.

The Maned Wolf is listed as near threatened in its native range. This listing is due to loss of habitat by encroaching human populations, the introduction of certain diseases and a belief that certain of its organs have medicinal healing powers.

The development of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) has enabled the breeding of Maned Wolves in captivity. The SSP program aims to pair up genetically significant individuals to produce offspring with the greatest genetic variation.

A male black and white Colobus Monkey named ‘Simon’ was born at the Saint Louis Zoo’s Primate House on December 30, 2014.

Photo Credits: Ethan Riepl / Saint Louis Zoo

Colobus infants are born with all white hair and a pink face. In contrast, adults are primarily black, with white hair encircling their faces and half of their tails. They have a distinctive mantle of long white hair extending from their shoulders around the edge of their backs. Infants will change gradually until they reach adult coloration at about 6 months.

‘Cecelia’, age 16, is an experienced mother who is taking great care of her newborn and 2-year-old daughter ‘Kivuli’. Also in the family is 27-year-old matriarch, ‘Roberta’, mother to 2-1/2-year-old daughter ‘Pili’ and 1-year-old daughter ‘Binti’. Nine-year-old father, ‘Kima’, watches proudly over the family.

“A new infant is always the focus of so much excitement and attention for the family,” says Joe Knobbe, Zoological Manager of Primates at the Saint Louis Zoo. “It’s important for everyone to have a role in the care of the newborn. Older sister Kivuli has taken particular interest in her new baby brother and is often seen holding or even carrying him. She’s learning important skills that will help her become a great mother, too, someday.”

The family can be seen at the Primate House. Visitors can see the infant poking his head out to look at his new world.

The Colobus Monkey, a threatened species, is found throughout the forests of east and central Africa. The birth is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Colobus Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program to manage a genetically healthy population of black and white Colobus Monkeys in North American zoos.

The New Year started off amazing for Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, in Florida! On January 17^th, the zoo welcomed a 193 pound female Reticulated Giraffe. 

Photo Credits: Brittney Hendricks 

The calf stood 6 ft. 2 inches, at birth. She has been on exhibit, enjoying becoming acquainted with the rest of the zoo’s young giraffes. Proud parents of the new girl are ‘Naomi’ and ‘Duke’. 

Giraffes are the tallest animals on earth and can reach a maximum height of 18 feet. Both males and females have horns, and each animal has unique markings that grow darker with age. In the wild, giraffes can live up to 25 years, and they have been known to live as long as 28 years, in captivity.

In the wild, they prefer to eat leaves and shoots of trees. However, in zoos, they are fed alfalfa hay, grain, browse, fruits, and vegetables.

Observations in the wild indicate that they lie down only 5-6 hours per night. During most of this time, the animals remain alert with their necks erect and their eyes alternately opened and closed. Giraffes may go into a deep sleep for just 5 minutes each night. During deep sleep a giraffe bends its neck backward in an arch and rests its head behind its back legs or on an extended back leg.

The gestation period for giraffes is about 15 months. Breeding can occur throughout the year and a single calf is born, rarely twins. Calves are usually 6 feet tall and can stand up 20 minutes after birth. Females are excellent mothers and defend their calves vigorously. In the wild, lions are the principal predators of calves, although hyenas, leopards and even wild dogs may also kill newborns up to three months of age. Male calves are weaned at approximately 15 months. Female calves are weaned a couple of months later. There is no difference in the mortality rate between male and female calves.

Jacksonville Zoo acquired their first giraffe, a male named ‘Long John’, in December 1957.

Taronga Zoo is asking the public for help in naming one of its first-ever Bilby joeys!

Photo Credits: Taronga Zoo (Images 1,2,3,4); Robert Dockerill (Images 5,6,7,8); Auspic (Image 9)

The Zoo announced the birth of the two joeys in December, capping off an exciting year that saw The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge officially open its new Bilby exhibit named in honor of their son, Prince George.

The Bilby youngsters had their first hands-on health check last week, with keepers confirming the pair are both female.

Taronga launched a public naming competition, a few days ago, for one of the two joeys on its Facebook and Instagram pages, calling for suggestions that reflect the joey’s native habitat. Keepers have already named one of the girls ‘Tanami’ after the Tanami Desert, which is home to fragmented populations of the Greater Bilby.

“We’ll be looking for a very Australian name, but not ‘Bruce’ or ‘Sheila’,” Bilby Keeper, Paul Davies said jokingly.

“It would be wonderful to find a name that reflects this beautiful Bilby’s natural habitat, which has sadly declined due to the introduction of farm animals and predators such as feral foxes and cats.”

Mr. Davies said the births have also helped build on the incredible exposure generated by the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Taronga in April 2014.

“You could even say the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge brought us good luck, as it’s after their visit that we've been able to breed Bilbies for the very first time,” he said.

The Bilby (also known as the rabbit-eared bandicoot) is a rabbit-like marsupial. It lives in deserts, dry forests, dry grasslands, and dry shrubby areas in Australia. The Bilby's pouch faces backwards. These big-eared, burrowing mammals are in danger of extinction.

More great pics, below the fold!