This is the first Amur leopard born at the Zoo in over 20 years

(August 11, 2020) Santa Barbara, CA -- On August 6th at 4:05 am, the Santa Barbara Zoo’s Amur leopard, Ajax, gave birth to her first cub. The cub is a female and has been given the name Marta. The cub weighed in at 517 gms (1.1 lbs) at its first medical examination on August 6.

Ajax and the new cub have remained in their den behind the scenes during their critical bonding period and were not visible to the public for sever months. Once mom and cub bonded and the cub received a clean bill of health, Ajax and the cub began rotating with the father, Kasha, in having access to their exhibit habitat. In the wild, males and females usually do not remain together after breeding occurs, so this separation is important for the safety of Ajax and the cub.

TACOMA, Wash.-- Southern three-banded armadillos Vespa and Scooter welcomed a female pup into the world in late October, making them both first-time parents. The pup is the first healthy armadillo pup born at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in its 116-year history.

“She is healthy and the perfect little replica of her parents,” said the zoo’s head veterinarian Dr. Karen Wolf. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome this pup into our animal family,” added assistant curator Maureen O’Keefe.

Keepers monitored mom Vespa’s behavior around the clock leading up to the birth.

On Saturday, November 13, Prague Zoo’s baby orangutan Kawi celebrated his first birthday. Keepers treated him and the other orangutans to special birthday enrichment.

"He is among our most popular animal personalities," said Prague Zoo Director Miroslav Bobek. “Kawi was born last November 17th."

The Sumatran orangutans got a birthday surprise from keepers. Throughout the day, visitors received a lot of interesting information about the lives of apes at the Prague Zoo and about orangutans in Sumatra. Winners of an art competition for the best portraits the birthday boy were also announced.

Drusillas Zoo Park near Alfriston are thrilled to announce the safe and healthy arrival of a new baby colobus monkey, and they are asking for help to name the gorgeous youngster!

The precious youngster was born on 13th October, to mum Adaeze and dad Maarten, and Keepers at the Zoo are delighted with how the adorable babe is thriving so far. 

If you’re looking for adorable flamingo fluffs to make your day even better, look no further! Denver Zoo is delighted to share that they had not one, not two, but THREE Chilean flamingo chicks hatch a few weeks ago! These curious chicks are being hand-reared in the Avian Propagation Center, and while they’re still waiting on official names and sexes, they have affectionately been nicknamed Big, Middle and Little based on their hatch dates and current sizes. After completing a flamingo family tree, Keeper Anton realized that they also happen to be Swift and Legend’s nieces/nephews, which is fun for fans of Denver’s two-year-old boys! Meet the newest members of the flock in this latest edition of Baby Bulletin, presented by SCL Health.

Video credit: Keeper Anton M.

The baby Sri Lankan Leopard at Royal Burgers’ Zoo in The Netherlands has been vaccinated for the second time against cat flu and has been dewormed. Thanks to this booster, the animal is now immune to this common feline disease and hopefully also preventively rid of any worms.

At the age of about three months, the youngster can get acquainted with its mother for the first time in the large outdoor enclosure. Until then, the young can continue to grow in the pleasant warmth of the indoor enclosure thanks to mother's milk.

On November 10, 2021, four juvenile whooping cranes were released into White Lake Wetlands Conservation Area as part of an ongoing effort to protect this endangered species from extinction. After spending a few weeks getting used to their new environment, the cranes will join more than 75 whooping cranes that are part of a population being monitored by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. 

The four chicks being released were hatched and reared at Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center in New Orleans. This is the fourth year Audubon has released cranes in the Louisiana wild; before that, cranes bred in human care were transported and released into a northern flock. This year's chicks were named after "natural phenomena" including Blizzard, Hurricane, Lava, and Aurora. 

August 2021. A litter of naked mole rat can already be seen in the Bioparc Valencia in Spain, a very strange and unknown mammal that behaves like an insect, is practically immune to cancer, can change from cold to warm blooded, has developed four mobile teeth, is extraordinarily long-lived and, in the absence of oxygen, acts like a plant.

Given its relevance from the biological point of view, BIOPARC Valencia houses a large group of approximately 100 individuals structured in two completely independent colonies. Each one usually reproduces annually and this summer a new litter of 9 offspring has been born that we can see even suckling from their mother. We can contemplate them in the area that recreates the underground life of the Savannah, through windows where the network of tunnels and rooms that imitate their original habitat can be observed.

More information: www.bioparcvalencia.es

MAISIE UPDATE: Here, there, and everywhere, 1-year-old chimp Maisie is on the go. She has now climbed almost all the way to the top of the indoor habitat, and has been showing off more of her personality—just look at that little display towards female Asali! Most of her time is still spent with male Louie (seen in this video snuggling Maisie) and fellow infants Lola and Violet.

Maisie's mother would not care for her and she was brought to The Maryland Zoo in September of 2020 to be hand-reared before being integrated into the Maryland Zoo chimpanzee troop. Maisie turned 1 on August 28, 2021.