On December 27th, Cindy gave birth to a perfect baby! This is her 6th child over the 20 years she has lived at the zoo, making her quite an experienced mother.
Copenhagen also has three little lion cubs! They came into the world on December 1st. Like most other cubs, they are very vulnerable in the first few weeks of their lives, so the family had total peace inside the barn.
A truly unique-looking baby animal, a giant anteater pup, has been born at Hungary’s Sosto Zoo.
Currently, the 2-week-old little one spends most of the time riding on his mother's back, so when she is active - eating or walking about - the tiny pup, is immediately visible.
Native to South America, the Anteater is one of the animals with the most unique appearance; the shape of its trunk, its huge broom-like tail and long skull make it one of a kind.
The weird appearance has practical functions, because every part of it is adapted to nutrition (consumption of insects).
Abilene, TX- The Abilene Zoo is pleased to announce the birth of twin giant anteater pups; a first of its kind birth for the zoo! The twins were born to their two-and-a-half-year-old mother, Demo, the morning of March 28, 2022.
The giant anteater twins, one boy and one girl, are Demo’s first born. Because it is rare for a giant anteater to give birth to twins and be able to adequately nourish two pups, the Abilene Zoo Animal Care Specialists have kept close watch of mother and babies, weighing the pups daily. It was noted that the female pup was not gaining weight, and the decision was made to hand raise her. While the male pup continues to be with mother Demo, the zoo’s veterinary and animal care teams are working towards the goal of reuniting the entire family as soon as the female pup gains weight and achieves critical milestones.
There is not yet a date set for the pups to be out on display to the public. However, Demo is at liberty to move around her exhibit, and she has already given a few lucky Abilene Zoo guests the chance to see her baby boy riding on her back. The Abilene Zoo encourages all guests to visit the giant anteater viewing area to try and catch a glimpse!
The baby is the first offspring of Lyra and Bubbles, but is also the first anteater birth in Dudley Zoo & Castle’s 85-year history and came as a surprise to keepers who made the wonderful discovery on January 17.
DZC Curator Richard Brown, said: “The first baby anteater in our zoo history is fabulous news, especially as we’re marking such a milestone anniversary year.
“Lyra is coping well with first-time motherhood and the pup, who’s yet to be sexed, also appears healthy and alert.
For the third time in Zoo history, a Giant anteater has been born at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. Arriving on June 15 after a 175-day gestation period, the baby weighed 4.3 pounds at nine days old, and 6.1 pounds at 23 days old on July 8. Proud parents are third time dad, E.O., and fourth time mom, Pana. The pair was brought to Connecticut’s only Zoo with the hopes of successful breeding, which occurred for the first time in 2016. Currently mother and baby are in seclusion most of the day, with brief forays into the outdoor habitat for fresh air and sunshine.
“We couldn’t be happier that our Giant anteaters Pana and E.O. are parents for the third time,” explained Zoo Director Gregg Dancho. “We encourage everyone to follow the baby’s growth and progress on our Facebook and Instagram pages until the baby is a bit larger.”
Mochilla, the pair’s first offspring, is now in residence at Alexandria Zoo in Louisiana. The second-born, Tupi, is now at the Nashville Zoo in Tennessee.
Female anteaters give birth to one offspring and the baby rides on mom’s back for the first several months of life, occasionally venturing off not too far from mom to explore its surroundings. For the first week, mom spends most of her time sleeping while bonding occurs and the baby gains strength and weight. When Pana and her baby are outside, EO will not be allowed to be in the same habitat due to the mother’s protectiveness. Pana and the baby will be outside for guests to view later this summer, alternating with EO.
The Giant anteater parents came to the Zoo from Palm Beach Zoo in Palm Beach, Florida. Both Pana and EO are twelve years old. They arrived in late May 2015 and are a highlight of the Pampas Plains habitat, which opened in August 2015. Featuring animals from the Pampas region of Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, the exhibit represents the Zoo’s South American Adventure.
About Giant Anteaters
Giant anteaters can live up to 26 years in human care and are usually solitary animals. They weigh up to 100 pounds, and are five to seven feet long. Their home range is from southern Belize to northern Argentina and they live in grasslands, humid forests, and woodland areas. Anteaters have one of the lowest body temperatures in the animal kingdom at 91 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit and can eat up to 30,000 ants per meal in the wild. The Latin name for anteater is Vermillingua, meaning "worm tongue," which can be as long as two feet.
Sometime during the early morning hours of December 8th, Laura, a 7 year old female giant anteater whose birthday happens to fall on the same day, gave birth to what is believed to be a male baby. Unfortunately, this happened to be one of the coldest nights of the year in Miami and the newborn was found abandoned in the corner of its holding area, weak and cold. Upon discovery, it was immediately transported to the zoo hospital where the animal health team placed it into intensive care.
Though there was significant doubt that the newborn would survive, it slowly started to become more responsive after being heated up and receiving fluids. Zoo keepers were able to collect natural milk from the mom which was supplemented with a formula substitute and was initially administered directly into the infant’s stomach through a tube that was carefully inserted through the mouth.
Once the baby regained some strength over the first 48 hours, an attempt was made to reintroduce it to its mother. Though the mother initially allowed the baby to be placed on her back, she soon became intolerant of it and her behavior indicated that she was not going to care for it and that it would need to be returned to the hospital for hand-rearing.
Photos and video: Ron Magill
After being initially tube fed, the animal has become stronger and more active. It is now regularly accepting a bottle and drinking on its own. The staff continues work around the clock to feed the infant every 3 hours. At the time of this writing, it continues to gain strength and its distinct black and white coat is beginning to grow in. Zoo veterinarians are cautiously optimistic that the baby has overcome the most serious challenges of its first few days and are hoping that the improvements continue though there are still obstacles ahead as there would be for any infant in this situation.
Giant anteaters are the largest of the four species of anteaters and can reach a length of 6-8 feet. They are found in Central and South America and are listed as vulnerable with their greatest threat being habitat loss. Commonly called an “ant bear,” they have a 2 foot long tongue that can lick up 150 ants and termites per minute. Though they have no teeth, they have powerful front claws which can be used to fend off many threats, including jaguars.
‘A’ is for aardvark, anteater and armadillo - Keepers at Longleat are celebrating the births of their very own animal ‘A’ team.
Among the new arrivals is a baby aardvark, the first to have been born at the Wiltshire safari park.
Weighing a little more than a kilogramme at birth, the bizarre-looking calf is born without hair, has drooping ears and wrinkled skin.
Over time it develops hair, the long ears become upright and the wrinkles slowly disappear.
“This is our first ever aardvark birth so we are paying particularly close attention to how the calf is growing and checking its weight daily,” said Team Manager Catriona Carr.
“Aardvark calves can be fragile in their first stages of life, and parents can sometimes be a bit clumsy so we are closely monitoring mother and baby and helping with feeding sessions until the calf has got stronger and can look after itself,” she added.
Originally from Sub-Saharan Africa, aardvarks are renowned for their tunnelling abilities and are capable of digging through a metre of soil in under 30 seconds.
The two-metre-long mammals have specially-adapted spade-like claws on their front legs which allow them to dig out up to 50,000 bugs in a single evening.
They also have tongues measuring in excess of 30cms and nostrils, which they can completely close to prevent dirt getting into their noses.
The other members of the ‘A’ Team are a baby giant anteater and a pair of six-banded armadillos.
Giant anteaters originate from Central and South America and can be found in tropical and deciduous forests.
As its name suggests the giant anteater is the largest of the anteater family and can grow to over two metres in length with tongues that extend to more than 60cm.
The new arrival is the latest success story for Longleat captive breeding programme for the species, which is officially listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
As for armadillos, the name comes from the Spanish for ‘little armoured one’ and refers to the hard, protective bands which cover their bodies and protects them from predators. This protective layer is actually made from keratin, the same material which is in our hair and nails.
River Safari welcomed its fourth Giant Anteater on July 17, bringing the park’s current collection of the threatened species to four. As Iapura is an experienced mother having given birth to her previous pup, Leona, on March 3, 2018, she required no assistance from her keepers when birthing this newborn. Giant Anteaters can have a single offspring, once a year, after a gestation period of about 6 months.
Photo Credits: Wildlife Reserves Singapore
Weighing only 1.6kg at birth, the yet-to-be-named new pup possesses surprising strength for its small stature, climbing and clinging onto her mother’s back with ease. The newborn spends much of her time on her mother’s back. In this position, it can be difficult to spot the pup, as its coat of hair is almost identical to an adult’s, allowing her to blend in with her mother. This trick comes in handy for anteaters in the wild as it protects the pup from predators and makes the mother appear larger, making for less tempting prey.
Currently on her mother’s milk, the pup will gradually be weaned and introduced to solid food—a mixture of insectivore pellets and ant eggs—when she is about five months old.
Members of the public can vote for their preferred name of the pup by commenting on the video on Wildlife Reserves Singapore’s Facebook page from August 21 through 28. The pup’s keepers have shortlisted two names for public voting: “Amazon”, after the giant anteater’s natural habitat in the Amazon rainforest or “Estrella”, meaning ‘star’ in Spanish, the language most often spoken in her native range of South America.
Iapura and her pup will be introduced to the Giant Anteater exhibit along River Safari’s Amazon River Quest boat ride when the latter turns four months old. In the meantime, guests can either spot father, Zapata, or daughter, Leona, by their distinct narrow head, bushy tail and long snout.
The Giant Anteater is the largest species of anteater out of four and is listed as “Vulnerable” on IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, due to habitat loss, road-kill, and hunting.
The animals cared for by WRS are part of the international conservation-breeding program (EEP) managed by the European Association of Zoo and Aquaria (EAZA).
Two babies in one year might be a handful for most mothers. But ZSL London Zoo’s Tamandua Ria has plenty of help with her latest offspring, because her firstborn Poco literally shares the load.
Since the new pup’s birth in October, proud big brother Poco, who was born in April, has been carrying his new sibling around their indoor rainforest home. In honor of the brotherly love shared by the siblings, keepers have named the new baby Paco.
Photo Credit: ZSL London Zoo
“Ria must have fallen pregnant just weeks after giving birth to Poco,” says ZSL keeper Steve Goodwin, who discovered Poco bonding with the new baby immediately after the birth.
“We suspected Ria was pregnant again, so we were keeping a close eye on her,” explains Goodwin. “When I peered into their nestbox that morning I saw the whole family nestled together, with the newborn already snuggling into the soft fur on Poco’s back – he’s clearly taken his big brother duties very seriously, as they’ve been inseparable ever since.”
The heartwarming relationship between the Tamandua twosome is one that keepers are closely monitoring, so that information about the unusual bond can be shared with other zoos around the world.
“Not a lot is known about Tamandua group dynamics in the wild, as the species are nocturnal and spend most of their lives high up in the tree canopy of their rainforest homes,” Goodwin says. “Tamanduas are usually seen as solitary animals, with the females carrying their offspring on their backs for the first three months of their life, so Poco’s close relationship with one-month-old Paco is definitely something we can all learn from.”
While Ria has had a little help with her newborn, she remains a devoted mother to both of her youngsters. “If Paco ever begins to cry on Poco’s back, she doesn’t just take the little one off him to soothe them: she carries them both until he settles down, which means Paco is on Poco, who is on mum. The tower of Tamanduas is quite a sight!” says Goodwin.
Part of the Anteater family, Tamanduas are native to South America and are impressive climbers. They collect ants and termites using their long, sticky tongue.
Keepers won’t know the youngster’s sex until it is examined by the veterinarian, and this won’t happen until Paco is about six months old. Boy or girl, the newborn is a valuable addition to its species and once its sex is confirmed, its details will be added to the European Studbook (ESB), part of a coordinated breeding program for Tamanduas.
For the second time in the facility’s history, a Giant Anteater has been born at Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo. Arriving on the evening of July 30, the little male is now nine pounds and was born after a 175-day gestation period.
Proud parents are second time dad, EO, and third time mom, Pana. The pair was brought to Connecticut’s only Zoo with the hopes of successful breeding, which occurred for the first time in 2016. Mother and baby are currently in seclusion most of the day, with brief forays into the outdoor habitat for fresh air and sunshine.
Photo Credits: Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo
“Our fingers were crossed that our Giant Anteaters would repeat having another youngster, and we couldn’t be happier that the breeding was successful a second time,” explained Gregg Dancho, Zoo Director. “We encourage everyone to follow the baby’s growth and progress on our Facebook and Instagram pages until the baby is a bit larger.”
Mochilla, the pair’s first offspring, is now in residence at Alexandria Zoo in Louisiana.