And the newborn elephant at Rotterdam Zoo is named… Maxi! This son of Faya and Fahim has been named after his grandfather Maximus. The little one is doing very well. After a short period in the delivery room, he was able to venture outside every day if weather permitted. Stones, branches, water, everything is new to him and is being tested while mother and grandmother keep an eye on things. His young uncle Radjik is also very excited to play with him!

Do you want to discover more about the Asian elephant? Then head to: https://www.diergaardeblijdorp.nl/dossiers/dieren/olifant/

Yesterday at 04:08 p.m. Rotterdam Zoo’s Asian elephant Faya gave birth to a male calf! The calf was born indoors, among the rest of the group. This is the first calf for mother Faya, and both are doing well. Faya has great support from her own mother Bangka, who is now a grandmother for the first time. The Blijdorp family now has four generations, which is very special. They will have some time to bond together, so the Taman Indah indoor shelter is closed. Follow the elephant herd between 10:00 and 22:00, live, via the webcam. Read the full birth message at: https://www.diergaardeblijdorp.nl/aziatische-olifant-geboren2022/

Two small pandas are growing up in the nest boxes at Diergaarde Blijdorp (Rotterdam Zoo). The pair were born behind the scenes last month. In the meantime, mother Kwina occasionally moves her young to another nest box. Three nest boxes have been incorporated into the habitat’s artificial rock and tree. The sire is Miyuko, he came to Blijdorp from Pairi Daiza at the beginning of this year. The young usually stay in their nest for about three months. After that, they appear more and more… Diergaarde Blijdorp coordinates the Population Management program and works with conservation organization Red Panda Network (RPN) in Nepal to protect and research the little panda in its habitat.

Rotterdam Zoo’s newborn gorilla is a boy! His caretakers have come up with three beautiful names: Amadi (African for: happiness), Ajabu (African for: miracle) and Anayo (African for: thank god). The Netherlands Zoo has a tradition of choosing an African name beginning with the first letter of the mother’s name, in this case A for Aya. Can you help with this choice? Vote until March 24 at https://www.diergaardeblijdorp.nl/stem-op-naam-gorilla/

Download the free Blijdorp app for webcams, facts, handy route planner and much more: https://www.diergaardeblijdorp.nl/blijdorp-app/

Hooray! Unexpectedly, a western-lowland gorilla was born at Rotterdam Zoo. The keepers discovered the baby early the morning of February 11. The mother is Aya and the father is Bokito. Mother and baby are doing well. For Aya this is the fourth youngster and for Bokito his tenth offspring. The gender is still unknown and also difficult to see. Aya holds the young close to her. The curious family came to look, as can be seen in this video, made by caretaker Victor. The young is very welcome but was not planned. The number of births for this critically endangered species is regulated by the European Breeding Program (EEP). You can already go on a maternity visit, but there is no guarantee that the young will always be clearly visible. Mother Aya has the opportunity to withdraw behind the scenes to care for her young in peace. Take your old cell phone with you as a maternity gift. This helps the gorillas in the wild. Read the entire message at:

https://www.diergaardeblijdorp.nl/gorilla-geboren/

In the Netherlands, Rotterdam Zoo’s Okapi M'buti gave birth to a baby on Sunday November 21 at 12:15 pm. Mother and baby are doing well. M'buti is an experienced mother, this is her third baby. The father is Ngwani. The little one will remain in the stable for the next few weeks. Okapis are altricial, meaning they mature after birth with the aid of their parents. Just like in the wild, the mother leaves her young in a safe place and returns only to nurse. At first, okapi calves spend their days mostly sleeping and drinking. Visitors will soon be able to peek into the nursery via webcam.

On November 8, 2020 at 10:25pm, a critically endangered black rhino was born in Rotterdam Zoo, after a gestation period of 450 days. The delivery went well. The calf, a male, could stand within twenty minutes and has already been nursing. It is the third time that a black rhino has been born in Diergaarde Blijdorp and in a Dutch zoo. Through webcams, many fans could follow the delivery from home. The webcam streams were viewed about 400,000 times in one day. What is more special is that the calf was born on father Vungu's birthday. In this video you can see the birth and proud carer Melle tells about the little one. Learn more at: https://www.diergaardeblijdorp.nl/zwarte-neushoorn-geboren-op-digitale-kraamvisite/

Flory, a  Pygmy Hippo born in late September at the Diergaarde in Blijdorp, Netherlands, rests close to mom. These photos and video, by lensman A.J. Haverkamp, show the infant Pygmy Hippo at only ten days old. Critically endangered in their native home of Western Africa, Pygmy Hippos thrive with proper care at zoos and most of what scientists know about this fascinating animal is derived from zoo populations.