'Preemie' Penguin Saved by London Zoo Keepers

Keepers at ZSL London Zoo’s were checking the nest boxes at their Penguin Beach exhibit. Unfortunately, they found one of this season’s eggs had been accidentally broken by its parents, but they were astonished to find the tiny chick still alive inside!

Photo Credits: Zoological Society of London

Quick-thinking keepers knew the delicate Humboldt Penguin chick (nicknamed Rainbow) wouldn’t survive without help, so they rushed her to the Zoo’s onsite vet clinic, where the heroic vet team sprang into action.

ZSL penguin keeper, Suzi Hyde, explained, “The chick had a little way to go before she should have hatched, so it was very much touch and go – but we knew we had to get her safely out of the shell and into an incubator to give her a fighting chance.”

ZSL vets carefully set about removing bits of shell from around the tiny chick with tweezers until she could be gently lifted out and laid in a makeshift nest - before being transferred to the custom-built incubation room in the colony’s home on Penguin Beach.

“We were overjoyed when she started begging for food by opening her mouth wide and making tiny squawks. It was the first sign that she might just make it.”

Rainbow spent the next few weeks cozying up to a cuddly toy penguin under the warming glow of a heat lamp and being hand-fed three times a day with a special diet of blended fish, vitamins and minerals – referred to by ZSL London Zoo’s bird keepers as ‘penguin milkshake’.

“Rainbow’s bodyweight has steadily increased by around 20 per cent every day, so she’s growing extremely quickly,” said Suzi. “She’s always eager for her next meal and makes sure we know it’s feeding time – she may be only weeks old but she’s definitely perfected her squawk already.”

“Penguins do accidentally step on their eggs, which – even if the chick survives – invariably leads to them rejecting the infant. Luckily a combination of heroic keepers and a very plucky chick meant that Rainbow will be splashing around in Penguin Beach with the rest of the colony this summer.”

The one-month-old chick is expected to stay in the incubation room until she reaches 10-weeks-old, by which time she should have grown from 73g at hatch, to around 3kg in weight.

She’ll then move into the Zoo’s specially-designed ‘penguin nursery’, which includes a shallow pool for swimming lessons, before eventually being introduced to the other 80 penguins and their 1500 sq metre pool – the largest in the UK.

source http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2018/07/preemie-penguin-saved-by-london-zoo-keepers.html

Threatened Snakes Hatch at Jacksonville Zoo

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens is celebrating the hatching of two Eastern Indigo Snakes. The hatchlings emerged on July 10 and 11, and they mark the first time the Zoo hatched this vulnerable species since 1997.

The species is listed as “Threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, and population numbers are decreasing rapidly in its native range of the southeastern United States due to habitat loss.

Photo Credits: Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens

Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens recognized the importance of increasing the population of Eastern Indigo Snakes, and in 2012 received a pair with a breeding recommendation. The snakes recently reached sexual maturity and the female laid her first clutch. Eastern Indigos, while nonvenomous, can be both territorial and voracious eaters, so the breeding pair was only together for a brief time.

According to the Zoo’s Deputy Director for Animal Care & Conservation, Dan Maloney, “We are very proud and excited to welcome such significant new additions to the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens family. Six years ago, we acquired young snakes in hopes that they would be future parents. To finally have healthy hatchlings is extremely satisfying and lays the foundation for a successful, sustainable breeding program.”

The two hatchlings emerged from their 4-inch eggs after a 100-day incubation. They are 13-inches long now but will quickly grow into the longest native snake species in the United States.

Eastern Indigo Snakes are a top predator and have a wildly varied diet consisting of everything from small mammals, birds, and amphibians, all the way up to one of their favorite prey items, Eastern Diamond Rattlesnakes.

The decline of rattlesnake and Gopher Tortoise populations is contributing to the rapid decline in Eastern Indigo Snakes. Gopher Tortoise burrows serve as an important shelter for the snakes in winter months. These three threatened animals are linked by their habits and habitats, and their decline helps highlight the importance of keystone species to entire ecosystems.

The Zoo hopes that the new hatchlings can serve as ambassadors for local conservation efforts and reinforce our message of Living Well With Wildlife.

The mother of the two hatchlings can be viewed in the Wild Florida herpetology house. She shares her enclosure with a Box Turtle and a three-legged, rescued Gopher Tortoise.

source http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2018/07/threatened-snakes-hatch-at-jacksonville-zoo.html

Zoo Celebrates Birth of Red Panda Twins

Woodland Park Zoo’s three-week-old Red Panda cubs had their second neonatal exam this week and the female twins are healthy and thriving. The cubs were born on June 19 to two-year-old mom Hazel and 14-year-old dad Yukiko. The last successful birth of Red Pandas at the zoo was in 1989.

Photo Credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo

The exam was performed by the zoo’s veterinary team as a part of the zoo’s exemplary care program for its 1,200 animals. Born at about five ounces each, the cubs now weigh just over a pound. “We’re pleased with this weight gain, which means both cubs continue to nurse and have healthy appetites. Their eyes are not open yet but they are quite vocal as cubs should be,” said Dr. Darin Collins, Woodland Park Zoo’s director of animal health. 

Hazel, a first-time mom, lives in a private indoor, climate-controlled habitat, which provides a quiet environment where she can bond with her cubs. Because Red Pandas normally live alone, except for mothers with cubs, the dad remains separated from the new family. 

“We continue to monitor mom and cubs via a den cam to ensure they are thriving and we have minimal physical contact with the family,” said Mark Myers, a curator at Woodland Park Zoo. “The cubs are crawling and are capable of rolling over to upright positions. In another week or so, we should begin seeing continued motor skill development. This first month for newborn Red Pandas is an important time and our twins are on target with important developmental milestones.”

The zoo anticipates putting Hazel and her cubs on exhibit for guests to see by mid-October. “Timing will depend on their ability to safely navigate elevated branches, trees and other exhibit features. Because Red Pandas live in high-altitude temperate forests with bamboo understories in the Himalayas and high mountains, they are very comfortable in the coldest of conditions throughout the winter,” explained Myers. The community will be invited to participate in a public naming later this summer. 

Red Pandas share the name of Giant Pandas, but recent studies suggest they are closely related to Skunks, Weasels and Raccoons. An endangered species, fewer than 10,000 Red Pandas remain in their native habitat of bamboo forests in China, the Himalayas and Myanmar, and share part of their range with Giant Pandas. Their numbers are declining due to deforestation, increased agriculture and cattle grazing, and continuing pressure from growing human populations. 

Woodland Park Zoo supports the Red Panda Network, whose multi-prong approach aims to conserve this flagship species in Nepal.

source http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2018/07/zoo-celebrates-birth-of-red-panda-twins.html

Two Harbor Seal Pups Join the Pod at Zoo Berlin

On a recent morning, keepers at Zoo Berlin began their daily inspection of the Harbor Seal habitat. One of the keepers’ first tasks is to perform a head count of the seven animals under their care. As they began to count, they noticed not seven pairs of dark eyes staring back at them, but eight! It soon became clear that female Shiva, age 23, gave birth to a pup during the night. A few days later, the same scenario: now there are nine Seals in the habitat! This time Molly, age 13, is the proud mother of a brand-new pup. 

Photo Credit: Zoo Berlin

Zoo Berlin is home to a large extended family of Harbor Seals. Male Leopold, age 21, sired two pups last year. His sons Gregor and Herbert are still part of the group, which also includes females Lara, age 18, and Yohanna, age one. 

Harbor Seals have a gestation period of up to eleven months. Pups are born with the same smooth fur as the adults and can swim almost from birth. 

Harbor Seal pups are weaned at around two months old. “Seal pups are much more vulnerable to attack on sand banks than they are in the water, so they have to grow up quickly,” explains Zoo and Tierpark Director Dr. Andreas Knieriem. “Before too long, the newborn Seals will be almost indistinguishable from their parents.”

In the wild, these aquatic mammals are found all over the northern hemisphere – on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as well as in the North Sea and the Baltic. However, they are very rare on the northern European coasts. Commercial hunting of Harbor Seals was banned several decades ago in most countries around the world. Only native peoples are permitted to hunt these seals for subsistence hunting.

source http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2018/07/two-harbor-seal-pups-join-the-pod-at-zoo-berlin.html

Amur Tiger Mum Takes Cubs for First Outing

Four endangered Amur Tiger cubs, born at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo on June 23, were recently seen being taken for a first look at the world by mother, Naya.

The as-yet unsexed cubs were born to their seven year-old mum after 108 days of pregnancy and only 121 days (four months) after Naya “met” the dad, Botzman.

Photo Credits: ZSL Whipsnade Zoo

Keepers at the UK’s largest Zoo had been anxiously monitoring second-time mum, Naya, using remote camera technology as she gave birth to the first tiger cub at 7.25pm on June 23, and they were then elated to see her give birth to three further cubs over the subsequent five hours.

Team leader, Donovan Glyn, said, “It’s incredible news for us to have endangered Amur Tiger cubs born here at ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, but to have four of them is just amazing, especially when you consider there are only 500 left in the wild.”

Naya and her cubs have been getting to know each other in a birthing den in the middle of the Zoo’s large tiger enclosure, with mum only venturing away from her babies occasionally to have a drink.

Donovan Glyn continued, “Having cameras in her den is allowing us to keep a close eye on how they’re all getting on 24/7, and it’s also letting us share in the magic of them taking their first steps.”

“Naya is very attentive, cleaning the cubs regularly and letting them suckle whenever they want to. She has also stayed very calm and relaxed throughout, even when dad Botzman went in to see what was going on. He seemed to take one look at the first cub and decide to give them some space!”

Mum Naya and dad Botzman have been getting on extremely well since Naya arrived at the Zoo in February, and the cubs are a success for the European Endangered Species breeding Programme (EEP) which works with zoos across the continent to breed the endangered species.

Amur Tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) are classified as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species. Thanks to the conservation efforts of organizations like ZSL (Zoological Society of London), which works with Amur Tigers in the Russian Far East, there are now an estimated 500 Amur Tigers left in the wild, ten times the number that were estimated to exist in the 1940s.

Zookeepers will also be revealing exclusive footage of the cubs on ZSL Whipsnade Zoo’s social media channels over the next few months. Check their website for more info: www.zsl.org/zsl-whipsnade-zoo   

source http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2018/07/amur-tiger-mum-takes-cubs-for-first-outing.html

Hellabrunn Zoo Waits Four Years for Sloth Baby

Visitors to Hellabrunn Zoo might need a little patience to spot one of their newest residents. A Linnaeus's Two-toed Sloth baby, with brown button eyes, can be seen clinging to protective mom Maya, high up in a tree in the middle of the Zoo’s Rhino House. Born on June 18, the new offspring is the first Two-toed Sloth born at Hellabrunn Zoo in four years.

Photo Credits: Tierpark Hellabrunn/ Michael Matziol

The Linnaeus's Two-toed Sloth (Choloepus didactylus) is native to Central and South America usually sleeps between 15 and 20 hours a day. Considering that they can live up to the age of 40, this means they sleep for almost 34 years of their lives.

In the wild, sloths live with their parents for about one to two years. Females become sexually mature at the age of three, while males do not attain maturity until the age of four to five.

Maya is a first-time mom, and the experienced father is 26-year-old Heinz. It is not yet known whether their new baby sloth is a boy or girl.

"Determining the sex of a sloth based on external features alone is subject to error. So it will probably take a while until we are 100 per cent certain of the sex of the pup", explained Carsten Zehrer, curator for sloths at Hellabrunn Zoo. Accordingly, the little sloth has not yet been given a name.

Two-toed Sloths are inhabitants of the rainforest. Like many of the other fauna and flora of this habitat, they are severely impacted by deforestation and the resulting loss of habitat.

Although sloth behavior is not fully understood, it is known that they spend most of their lives hanging upside down from tree branches. Sloths have a low calorie diet, which means they need to conserve the little energy they receive from their food – by moving very slowly and very little. However, sloths are surprisingly strong swimmers, provided they can reach water.

Unlike most other mammals that have hair parting on their heads or backs, the sloth's fur runs in the opposite direction – from belly to back – with the parting on the belly. This upside down hanging fur helps water run right off its body when it rains.

source http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2018/07/hellabrunn-zoo-waits-four-years-for-sloth-baby.html