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/

At only a few days old, the little one was drinking well and staying close to mother Aya. They regularly received 'maternity visits' from Ayba; Aya's eldest daughter. She was very interested in her then yet-to-be-sexed newborn sibling. Father Bokito did not interfere with the upbringing, but did ensure peace and harmony in the group.

The newborn gorilla was determined to be a male. Rotterdam Zoo have the tradition of choosing a name with the first letter of the mother, in this case the A of Aya. The caretakers came up with three beautiful African names and put it to a public vote. The resulting name was: Ajabu (meaning miracle).

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/

In the wee hours of November 3rd, a bouncing bundle of joy was delivered at Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands. Indian Rhino Mom "Namaste" gave birth to a happy, healthy female calf. The yet-to-be named baby Rhino was walking and drinking milk within 30 minutes of her birth. Namaste is an experienced mom and has given birth to 5 babies so far. Indian Rhinoceroses are threatened by illegal poaching. Today they can only be found in some nature reserves in Northern India and Nepal.

Photo credit: Shirley Kroos (1-3) Rob Doorland (4)

On November 13, twin Asian lion cubs were born at Rotterdam Zoo to mom Shantee and dad Kumar.  The two were still unnamed mid-January, when they had the chance for their first vet visit. It was determined on that check up that one is a female and the other is male.

The cubs are still behind the scenes with their mother but can be seen through two live webcams at the zoo. Occasionally they may be out of sight because they have climbed to the residence next door.  Soon the babies will venture out into their habitat at the Zoo under their mother's and keepers watchful eyes, for a little at a time each day, based on weather conditions. 

Photo Credit: Rotterdam Zoo.  Webcam images made possible by Organiq and Amaziq

On Thursday, Rotterdam Zoo visitors had the priviledge of seeing Polar Bear cub Vicks, born December 6th, explore the outside world for the first time.  The cub, whose sex is still unknown, had spent the first months of life in a maternity den with mother Olinka. The increasingly precocious cub spent the day frolicking around the exhibit and even had his first swimming lesson.

Photo credits: Rotterdam Zoo

Some webcam footage of Vicks with Olinka at just 21 days of age...

Last week, Rotterdam’s Blijdorp Zoo got an Easter treat of its own. Born to 3 time mom Marian, baby Doris is doing well.  Weather permitting, she'll be on display to the public in no time!