Lincoln Children's Zoo

Snow Day for Red Panda Twins

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In September, ZooBorns brought you the story of a sweet duo of Red Panda cubs at Lincoln Children’s Zoo, in Nebraska. 

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Photo Credits: Lincoln Children's Zoo

The twins were born July 1st to mother, ‘Sophia’. Unfortunately, Sophia was unable to provide adequate care for the pair. Zoo staff intervened and began hand-rearing the cubs.

The Zoo decided to ask the public for help naming the cubs. In October, the winning names were selected, in honor of famous Nebraska natives: ‘Carson’ for television icon, Johnny Carson, and ‘Willa’ for writer, Willa Cather.

Today, the duo is not only thriving, but they are thoroughly enjoying the holiday season, especially the snow! 


It’s All About that Pumpkin

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Pumpkins are everywhere, this time of year! They make great pies, Jack-O-Lanterns, and pretty awesome enrichment toys for zoo animals. Happy Halloween from ZooBorns!

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Photo Credits: Tammy Spratt/San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Image 1: African Lion Cub); Amiee Stubbs Photography (Image 2: "Charlie" the Porcupine at Nashville Zoo); Lincoln Children's Zoo (Image 3: "Lincoln" the Red Panda); ZooAmerica (Image 4: "Rainier" the Mountain Lion); Zoo Vienna Schönbrunn (Image 5: Elephants); Sue Ogrocki (Images 6-Gorilla,7-Red River Hogs,10-Galapagos Tortoise at Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Gardens); Minnesota Zoo (Image 8: Lynx); The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens (Image 9: Meerkats)

More great pumpkin pics below the fold!

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Parallel Playmates at Lincoln Children’s Zoo

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Lincoln Children’s Zoo, in Nebraska, is excited to announce two new stars in their zoo family, Red Panda twins!  The siblings, a boy and a girl, were born July 1st to mother, Sophia.

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Photo Credits: Lincoln Children's Zoo

Because the soon-to-be-named duos mother needed intervention with her new babies, they are being hand raised by keepers at the zoo. 

The cubs are doing exceedingly well and displaying all the marks of healthy, active siblings. The female cub has a stuffed animal frog she is friends with and loves napping on. The male cub is full of energy, and like a typical brother, loves to pick on his sister. One of his favorite activities is to provoke his sister into a fight and, then, tease her with a hasty retreat.

The female cub will live at the zoo for the next year, and the male will move to another zoo in the coming months. The cub's names will be announced soon!

Native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, the Red Panda is currently classified as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. Their population in the wild continues to decline due to habitat loss, poaching, and inbreeding depression. 


Lincoln Children's Zoo Hand-raises Baby Tammar Wallaby

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A seven-month-old Tammar Wallaby joey is one of the newest additions to the Lincoln Children's Zoo. Liv the Wallaby joey was found out of her mother's pouch one morning and was immediately rescued by zookeepers. Still being hand-raised, Liv is carried in a make-shift pouch to substitute the body warmth and shelter provided by a Wallaby mother's pouch.

"Lincoln Children's Zoo is one of the only zoos that has hand-raised this specific species of Wallaby in the United States," president & CEO, John Chapo said. "It's a time consuming effort. The zookeeepers were feeding her eight times a day, adjusting the formula to provide the accurate amount of fat content a mother would supply and getting it switched over to solid food."

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"Normally Liv would be in her mother's pouch for nine months of her life, but we have experienced her growth and development one-on-one from the beginning," said Taylor Daniels, one of the zookeepers caring for Liv at Lincoln Children's Zoo. "Seeing Liv throughout all stages of her life and getting to know her personality has been incredible."
 
Wallabies and Kangaroos are Marsupials, but Wallabies are generally much smaller than Kangaroos. Tammar Wallabies are the smallest species of Wallaby. Lincoln Children's Zoo now has six Tammar Wallabies, including Liv, as well as two Bennett's wallabies.
 
Liv is still too young to join the zoo's other Wallabies, but zoo visitors will be able to see Liv when she begins making appearances on the Animal Encounter Stage in early July. Lincoln Children's Zoo's Animal Encounter Stage features different animals for children to interact with and discover first-hand every day.


Meet Lincoln, the Red Panda Cub

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A rare Red Panda cub was born in July at Lincoln Children's Zoo in Nebraska. Baby Lincoln, as zookeepers are calling him, is currently being hand-raised because his mother is unable to care for him. He is one of only four Red Panda cubs in the country being hand-raised. Lincoln spends his days in an incubator with around-the-clock care, and is growing stronger and healthier every day. Like his older brothers, Rusty and Wayne, he will eventually move to another zoo. Zookeepers named him Lincoln to represent the city of Lincoln and state of Nebraska when he moves to a new home in the future. 

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See a video of the cub in his nursery:

 

See and read more after the fold.

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Red Panda Twins Double the Fun at Lincoln Children's Zoo

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The Lincoln Children's Zoo in Nebraska is celebrating the birth of twin Red Pandas, the first to be born at the zoo in 25 years.  The twins are two of only 17 Red Pandas born in U.S. zoos in 2012. 

At age 15, the twins' father is the oldest proven breeder among captive Red Pandas, according to Zoo Director John Chapo.  Prior to this successful birth, the oldest male proven breeder was 12 years old. 

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The twins, born earlier this summer, still spend most of their time in the nest box with their mother Sophie. 

Red Pandas are critically endangered in their native Himalayan habitat and the zoo population is an important component of Red Panda conservation efforts.

Photo Credits:  Lincoln Children's Zoo


Egg-citing Arrivals at Lincoln Children's Zoo

Nebraska's Lincoln Children’s Zoo announced the hatching of two rare birds on July 15. These East African Crowned Cranes chicks were the first babies for the two parents, mother Naivasha (Na-Vash-A) and father Nukuru (Na-KU-Roo). They arrived at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo in the spring of 2007. You can tell the couple apart because Naivasha has additional red markings on her cheeks.

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Photo Credits: Lincoln Children's Zoo


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