ZooBorns

Baby Camel for Cincinnati Zoo - The First in Thirty Years

Saarai (pronounced “sorry”), the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s three-year-old Bactrian camel, gave birth to her first calf on Monday, April 23 and it's a boy. The last time the Zoo celebrated a camel birth was in 1983, so this birth was much anticipated by Zoo staff. 

Saarai became restless early Monday morning, and keepers noticed that she wasn’t eating or behaving as normal. As the afternoon approached, she began to pace and shortly thereafter keepers noticed the first signs of active labor. Staff blocked the outdoor exhibit off to the public and Saarai delivered the calf at 3:15 p.m. while the father, three-year-old Humphrey, watched from the neighboring exhibit. Soon after delivery, Saarai began nuzzling her calf; the baby first attempted to stand around 4 p.m. Mom and calf are doing well and will remain off exhibit, spending time nursing and bonding. 

The Zoo is asking for help in naming the baby. Keepers have selected their top three choices (Henry, Lyn and Cain), and the public can vote for their favorite online through Monday, April 30. The winning name will be announced on May 1.

Photo Credit: Cincinnati Zoo 

Meet Jasper The Baby Barn Owl

A five-week-old barn owl, named “Jasper,” born on February 16, is being hand raised for the Cincinnati Zoo's outreach program. Jasper came to Cincinnati from the World Bird Sanctuary in Saint Louis, MO. He is spending quality time getting acquainted with Zoo staff because his days will soon include interacting with school children, greeting visitors at the Zoo, and traveling to schools throughout the Tri-state, as an official Zoo Outreach Animal.

   

 

Look Who's Hogging All the Attention!

Four 4-week-old, Hedgehogs are currently hogging all of the attention at the Cincinnati Zoo.  The four incredibly cute Hedgehogs were born to mother, “Mali” and father, “Kenya,” and are currently off exhibit, behind the scenes in the Zoo’s Children’s Zoo Nursery.

Two male and two female, the siblings were born on February 4 and are being hand-raised by the Nursery keepers until they are old enough to be included in the Zoo’s Animal Outreach Program.  The babies are spending time getting acquainted with Zoo staff because their days will soon include interacting with school children, greeting visitors at the Zoo,  and traveling to schools throughout the Tri-state, as an official Zoo Outreach Animal.  

Photo credits: Cincinnati Zoo

 

Nursery keepers are feeding the babies four times a day by grinding up dry Hedgehog food and mixing it with esbilac. The gruel is easy for the young Hedgehogs to digest.   The Cincinnati Zoo has been home to 13 Hedgehogs. Did you know baby Hedgehogs are born blind and hairless!? They don’t begin to sprout their sharp spines until 36 hours after birth.  The spines form a protective covering over their body.

Meet Shane, Cincinnati Zoo's Baby African Pygmy Hedgehog!

Shane, the baby African Pygmy Hedgehog, is about one quarter of his adult size in these recent photos. In the wild these hedgehogs are incectivores, dining on worms and grubs, but in Zoos, they typically are fed kibble, closer to what a pet dog or cat may eat. Shane will be part of Cincinnati Zoo's Outreach Program, which introduces school students and zoo visitors to varied kinds of exotic animals.

Check This Out Gridiron Fans!

This video shot at Cincinnati Zoo was just too zany for ZooBorns to pass up! Enjoy!

 

First Ever Birth of Pallas' Kittens with the Help of Advanced Science

Three healthy Pallas’ Cat kittens (two males and one female) were born on June 8^th, 2011 at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden following a laparoscopic oviductal artificial insemination (AI) procedure conducted by scientists from the Cincinnati Zoo’s Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW).  This pregnancy and birth are the first ever in Pallas’ Cats from artificial insemination.

Photo credits: Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens

The AI procedure was performed using laparoscopy or minimally invasive surgery combined with a new oviductal insemination technique for cats that was developed at CREW.  The Zoo’s female Pallas’ Cat, Sophia, was treated with two hormones to stimulate ovarian follicle growth and ovulation and then was inseminated in both oviducts with semen collected from the Zoo’s male Pallas’ Cat, Buster.  Three healthy kittens were born following a 69 day gestation.  The kittens, now 9 weeks of age, are being raised by their mother in an off-exhibit enclosure.

Rockhopper Penguin Chick Raised by Both Parents at Cininnati Zoo

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has successfully hatched 11 Rockhopper Penguins over the last three decades. 

First time parents, the father, Wallace & mom Kim are taking good care of their new chick, who hatched on June 16, 2011. Just like it happens in the wild, both Rockhopper Penguin parents help take care of their young there at the Zoo. You can see them in the video below.

Photo Credit: David Jenike, Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

 

You can see the Rockhopper Penguin family in the Subantarctic Display in the Wings of the World Exhibit.

Meet Caspian, the Eurasian Eagle Owl

The CIncinnati Zoo welcomed a Eurasian Eagle owl chick four weeks ago. Named Caspian, the young Owl could grow to have a wingspan on six feet from tip to tip! Wild Eurasian Eagle Owls are found across Europe, Asia and even in parts of Northern Africa. Their diet consists largely of small mammals, but full grown Eagle owls can prey on larger animals like foxes, and young deer. The Eurasian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo) is one of the largest owl species in the world.

Photo credits: Connie Lemperle

First Giraffe Birth for Cincinnati in 26 Years!

Tessa, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s four-year-old Maasai Giraffe gave birth to her first calf Saturday morning, April 2 at 9:40 a.m. in her indoor stall. This news is especially exciting considering that the last time the Zoo celebrated a Giraffe birth was nearly 26 years ago!  The Cincinnati Zoo’s history with Giraffe births actually dates back to 1889 when it became the first zoo in the Western Hemisphere to have a Giraffe born in captivity.

Photo credits: Cincinnati Zoo

NOTE: The video below contains fascinating but graphic footage of the actual birth.

A Second Miracle at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo

The Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo and Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s Lindner Center for Conservation & Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) are excited to announce the birth of the world’s first endangered cat produced by Oviductal Artificial Insemination (AI)!  Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo’s veterinarian and a handful of other Zoo animal care specialists conducted their first physical examination of the Brazilian Ocelot kitten today, six weeks after its January 22 birth, and determined it’s a girl, weighing in at three pounds. This AI kitten is the second born to the mother, Kuma, who previously gave birth in 2008 to a healthy kitten conceived using the traditional AI method.  Kuma is the first Ocelot to have multiple pregnancies and kittens produced by AI. 

Photo credits: 1st photo by Chris Eastland / 2nd - 6th photos by Shannon Calvert