For the first time in its 108-year history, the Fort Worth Zoo proudly announces the hatchings of eleven Komodo Dragons. Upon hatching, the juveniles were approximately 12 to 15 inches long and weighed less than half a pound each (about as much as a bar of soap).

Photo Credits: Fort Worth Zoo

The female Komodo Dragon arrived at the Zoo in 2012 from Prague. She is 7 years old, 6 feet in length and weighs 26 pounds. The male is 7 years old, 6.5 feet long and 44 pounds. This is the first clutch for both young parents. (Full-grown adult males can reach over 8 feet in length and weigh up to 200 pounds). The adult Dragons’ unique genetic material makes them valuable assets in the development of Komodo Dragons in managed populations in the United States. They have now introduced an entirely new bloodline of healthy, genetically diverse Komodo Dragons into the population, which contributes as a hedge against extinction of these vulnerable reptiles.

Typically, female Komodo Dragons lay about 20 to 30 eggs and the eggs incubate for about nine months. There is little research to support parental care of newly hatched Komodo Dragons; in fact, adults will often eat juveniles. For this reason, and to ensure the eggs were kept at a constant temperature and humidity, the Fort Worth Zoo herpetological team cared for the eggs in the incubation nursery housed inside the Zoo’s Museum of Living Art (MOLA) until they hatched. Each one of the hatchlings now resides in its own off-exhibit habitat; however, one is now on exhibit in MOLA, across from their parents’ exhibit.

On August 25, the Fort Worth Zoo welcomed a male Grant’s Zebra foal to the herd – the first to be born there since 1996!

The foal was born to first-time mom Roxie, and both mom and baby are doing well. He was up and walking shortly after his birth and soon learned to maneuver on his long, wobbly legs.

Photo Credit: Fort Worth Zoo

At birth, the soon-to-be named foal weighed 60 to 70 pounds and stood roughly 30 inches tall.  When fully grown, he will weigh 650 to 750 pounds and measure about 44 inches tall at the shoulder.

The Fort Worth Zoo houses Grant’s Zebras, which are the smallest of the six subspecies of Plains Zebra. Native to Africa’s savannahs, Zebras feature a striking black-and-white-striped coat. Although the black and white lines on a Zebra’s coat are easy for human eyes to spot, it is difficult for Zebras’ predators, such as Lions, to differentiate individual Zebras in a herd. Plus, when a Zebra is standing in tall grass, it can be surprisingly difficult to see. Like human fingerprints, each Zebra's stripe pattern is unique.

Grant’s Zebras feed on grasses and move about in large herds, often mingling with Wildebeest. They are listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.  Grant's Zebras are the most numerous of all Zebra species or subspecies, but recent wars in their home countries have caused drastic declines in the population.

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Today is ‘World Giraffe Day’, and what better way to celebrate than by announcing a new Giraffe birth!

On June 8, the Fort Worth Zoo welcomed a male Reticulated Giraffe to the herd. At birth, the soon-to-be named calf weighed 185 pounds and stood roughly 6 feet tall. When fully grown, he will weigh up to 3,000 pounds and measure about 18 feet from head to hoof.

The Fort Worth Zoo houses Reticulated Giraffes, and their name describes the mammal’s chestnut-brown rectangular markings. Like human fingerprints, each Giraffe pattern is different. Native to the African savannas, a Giraffe’s most distinguishing feature is its long neck, which can account for 7 feet of its height.

The new calf, along with the rest of the herd, will soon join several other species in the Zoo’s new African Savanna exhibit, scheduled to open next year. Guests will not only see mixed species interacting and sharing the space, but will also have an opportunity to stand eye-to-eye and feed these gentle giants.

Photo Credits: Fort Worth Zoo

According to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF): “World Giraffe Day is an exciting annual event initiated by GCF to celebrate the longest-necked animal on the longest day or night (depending on which hemisphere you live!) of the year – 21 June – every year!

Not only is it a worldwide celebration of these amazing and much loved animals, but an annual event to raise support, create awareness and shed light on the challenges giraffe face in the wild. By supporting World Giraffe Day (WGD) you directly help save giraffe in Africa. With only 100,000 giraffe remaining in the wild, the time is right to act NOW!

Zoos, schools, NGOs, governments, institutions, companies and conservation organisations around the world are hosting events on 21 June every year to raise awareness and support for giraffe in the wild.”

For more information on ‘World Giraffe Day’, please see GCF’s website: https://giraffeconservation.org/

More great pics below the fold!

The Fort Worth Zoo, in Texas, proudly announced their first-ever Western Lowland Gorilla birth. The male primate was born on Saturday, Dec. 5 to first-time parents Gracie and Elmo.

The yet-to-be-named ape is staying close to his mother as he gets acclimated to his surroundings in the Zoo’s World of Primates exhibit. He will be viewable in indoor or outdoor exhibits, at various times during the day, which will be dictated by weather conditions and his activity level.

Photo Credits: Jeremy Enlow / Fort Worth Zoo

 The Fort Worth Zoo is the only zoo in the nation to house representatives of all four great ape species: Gorillas, Orangutans, Chimpanzees and Bonobos.

The Western Lowland Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) is one of two subspecies of the Western Gorilla that lives in montane, primary, and secondary forests and lowland swamps in central Africa in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Females don’t reach sexual maturity until the age of 8 or 9. Gestation is about 9 months and newborns typically weigh about four pounds. Infants ride on their mothers’ backs from the age of four months to two or three years of age. Infants remain dependent on the mother for up to five years.

Western Lowland Gorillas are listed as “Critically Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to hunting and disease. Gorillas also have an alarmingly low reproductive rate (at an observed rate of 3 percent population increase), so even if there was a drastic decline in hunting and disease, it could take at least 75 years for population recovery to occur in optimistic scenarios. The Fort Worth Zoo participates in a cooperative breeding program for Gorillas that maintains a healthy, self-sustaining population of vulnerable animals to help prevent their extinction.

On August 5, Fort Worth Zoo celebrated the birth of its second Asian Elephant calf of the summer (third in the Zoo's history). The male calf, named Bowie, comes just 30 days after Belle, feature last month on ZooBorns. Bowie is born to first-time mother Bluebonnet, the first Asian Elephant born at Forth Worth Zoo. Rasha, Bluebonnet's mother, gave birth to Belle. Bowie's birth makes Rasha a grandmother and Belle an aunt. The Zoo now houses three generations of elephants! The multigenerational family mimics the way herds are established in the wild. Fort Worth is home to 7 Asian Elephants total; there are 4 females and 3 males.

 

Bowie's name is a familiar one to Texans. Jim Bowie was a legendary figure of the American frontier. He played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution and eventually died at the Alamo.

Foth Worth Zoo established breeding program in 1986 and has become an international leader in elephant conservation. Zoo Executive Director Michael Fouraker served as the president of the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) for nine years and currently serves on the organization’s board of directors and as president-elect of the board. Asian Elephants have been endagered since 1967, threatened by habitat destruction and poaching for ivory.

More photos below the fold!

Belle, a female Asian Elephant calf born on July 7, recently got in some serious playtime with a hose and inflatable kiddie pool at the Fort Worth Zoo.

Photo Credit:  Fort Worth Zoo

 

Belle’s arrival was chronicled on ZooBorns last month.  She received her name through an online voting contest organized by the zoo.  Belle is named for bluebells, which are common Texas wildflowers that symbolize humility and gratitude. She is only the second Elephant calf ever born at the Fort Worth Zoo.

Asian Elephants are listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.  Poaching of the males for their ivory tusks, habitat loss, and human settlement continue to threaten the species.  Belle is an important addition to the zoo population because zoo birthrates are very low.

See more photos of pachyderm pool time below the fold.

Fort Worth Zoo announced the birth of a 330-pound, 38-inch tall female Asian Elephant calf on July 7.  This calf is only the second Elephant ever born at the zoo.

Photo Credit:  Fort Worth Zoo

 
Rasha, the zoo’s 40-year-old Asian Elephant, gave birth to the baby, her second, after a 22-month gestation. Rasha was carefully monitored throughout her entire pregnancy. As part of her prenatal care, she received weekly blood tests to monitor progesterone levels, regular physical examinations, and sonograms. The calf’s father is Groucho, a 43-year-old bull who is currently on loan to the Denver Zoo.

Both mother and calf are in great condition at this time. The initial bonding between an Elephant calf and its mother is vital to a successful rearing.   

The public is invited to help name the calf through July 25 on the zoo’s website.

Listed as endangered since 1976, the Asian Elephant is threatened by drastic habitat alteration and the poaching of male Elephants for their ivory tusks. Because birth rates are low in the wild and in zoos, the birth of this calf is important to the future of the species.

The first Greater One-horned Rhinoceros born in Texas now has a name: Asha. More than 3,300 Fort Worth Zoo Facebook fans chose from the five names selected by Zoo staff that reflected the baby Rhino’s personality and heritage. Asha, Nepalese for “hope,” was the front-runner from the start, receiving more than half of the total votes.

Carrie Shiflet Ferguson was chosen as the grand prize winner of the naming contest. She was chosen randomly among the Facebook fans who voted for the winning name, and will receive a greater one-horned rhino adoption package and a family four-pack of admission tickets to the Fort Worth Zoo.

Photo credit: Fort Worth Zoo

Asha, born August 16, 2012, has joined mother Shanti and sire Arun in the Fort Worth Zoo’sAsian Falls exhibit. The Greater One-horned Rhino is one of 43 endangered species at the Fort Worth Zoo. The Zoo’s greater One-horned Rhinos are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ (AZA) Species Survival Plan, a program created to manage a sustainable population of endangered species in AZA zoos. The International Rhino Foundation lists the greater one-horned rhino as endangered.

When a baby sitatunga was born the morning of November 10, Fort Wayne Children's Zoo keepers kept a watchful eye on the tiny new calf and his mother, Shiloh. Hoofstock usually stand and nurse within a few hours of birth, but this calf wasn’t able to stay on his feet. “He was too weak to stand, and since he couldn’t stand, he was unable to nurse,” says African Journey Manager Amber Eagleson.

By that afternoon, keepers decided to bottle-feed the calf to help him gain strength. “We bottle-fed him every four hours,” Eagleson says. “At first, he would only take a small amount because he was so weak, but by Friday afternoon he was steadily drinking from the bottle.” 

Shiloh did her part by waiting patiently when her calf was moved to a separate stall at feeding time. When keepers returned the calf to her, she groomed him vigorously to remove all traces of human scent. By Monday, keepers saw the calf nursing for the first time.

“We’re still giving him a bottle and weigh him once a day,” Eagleson says. The calf weighed only 7.5 pounds (3.4 kg)  at birth - significantly less than the other sitatunga calves born at the zoo, but he’s catching up. “If his weight increases over the next week, we’ll drop the bottle feedings and let mom take over completely,” Eagleson says.  She adds that keepers hope to name the baby in the next few weeks.

The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo has had great success breeding these unique marsh-dwelling antelope. Five calves have been born there since 2006.

Photo Credits: Fort Wayne Zoo