ZooBorns

Third Endangered Penguin Hatched This Year!

On December 6, Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo keepers welcomed the third successful hatching this year of an endangered African Penguin chick. After 10 days, the downy grey chick was alert, warm and vocalizing, three positive signs of health and strength. It is nesting inside the Penguin building under the watchful care of first-time parents, Tinkerbell and Loki. To date, the parents are very attentive and sharing in the brooding responsibilities of the hatchling, whose gender has not yet been determined. The tiny chick weighed just 54 grams when hatched, and has grown to 272 grams as of December 15.

The newest Penguin chick will remain with the parents for a few weeks, then be transitioned to zookeeper care to facilitate independence and learning to swim, before ultimately joining the colony on exhibit in several months. Once on exhibit, it will be easy to spot with its dark gray juvenile plumage for about a year. This will be replaced by the characteristic black and white feathers following its first molt.

Photo credits: Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

African Penguins, endemic to mainly offshore islands on South Africa’s coast, were reclassified in 2010 from 'vulnerable' to 'endangered' on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List (IUCN). The Zoo’s penguins are members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) African Penguin Species Survival Plan (SSP) program. 

Help Name Tampa's New Baby White Rhino!

At Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, a Southern White Rhinoceros calf was born in the early morning hours on Wednesday, December 7, to second-time mother “Kidogo” in the African Rhino boma (barn) which houses the animals overnight. The birth marks the second Rhino born at the Zoo this year, preceded by an Indian Rhinoceros (also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros) born in July.

Photo credits: Zoo docent Dave Parkinson

“Every rhino birth, regardless of which species, is significant in our global efforts to protect these animals,” noted Dr. Larry Killmar, VP and director of collections. “During the past 16 months, the animal care staff applied sound animal husbandry principals that resulted in this, our second successful birth of a southern white rhino.”

Help Name Tampa's Newest Arrival: An Endangered Rhino Calf!

An endangered Indian Rhinoceros (also known as the greater one-horned Rhinoceros) was born Wednesday evening, July 13, at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo to second-time mother “Jamie,” in the rhino barn within the Zoo’s Asian Gardens exhibit area.  The Indian Rhino birth is the second for the Zoo in two years, and a significant conservation milestone for the species with fewer than 60 animals in the managed population.

The Indian Rhino calf is not yet named, but the Zoo has launched a naming contest on its Facebook page for the online community to participate.  A selection of Hindi names -- starting with the letter J in honor of mother Jamie -- are below (in alphabetical order). 

• Jahi (JA-hi)“dignified”
• Jamil (JA-mil)  “handsome”
• Janmesh (JAN-mish) “king”
• Jaskaran (JAS-ka-ran) “good deeds”

The male calf will receive the name with the most votes through Monday, August 1.

Photo credits: Courtesy of Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

First White Rhino Birth for Lowry Park Zoo

Within 24 hours of the birth of an endangered Grevy’s zebra foal on St. Patrick’s Day, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo welcomed another offspring: a southern White Rhinoceros.  The rhino calf was born in the early morning hours on Thursday, March 18, to first-time mother “Kidogo” in the African rhino boma (barn) which houses the animals overnight.  The birth marks the first southern white rhino calf in the Zoo’s history, and the second birth in two days of animals sharing a habitat (southern white rhinos and Grevy’s zebra).

 

 

 

Luck of the Irish for Lowry Park Zoo Visitors

Bearing soft brown and white stripes instead of the traditional Irish green, an endangered Grevy’s zebra foal was born on exhibit at approximately 1:45 p.m. Wednesday (St. Patrick’s Day) at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo. Zoo animal care staff observed the entire labor and delivery, along with a small crowd of curious guests who watched from nearby for more than an hour for the rare opportunity to see a newborn zebra. The species is named after Jules Grévy, a president of France, who, in the 1880s, was given one by the government of Abyssinia.

 

 

Storks Deliver a Rare Holiday Surprise

On Christmas Day 2009, Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo became the first wildlife institution in the North America to hatch a rare African Shoebill Stork, and just the second institution worldwide. The chick began pipping (first stage of hatching) at approximately 7:30 a.m. on December 25, and was observed fully out of the egg, alert and vocalizing by the evening of December 26.

Above photo credits: Robert LaFollete

 

Photo credits: Josh Caraballo

Read more below or see more pictures on Robert LaFollete's blog.

Striped Stockings: Baby Okapi at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo

While it might look like a zebra or horse, the okapi is actually the only living relative of the giraffe. A shy, reclusive forest dweller, little is known about okapis in the wild. 

On October 3rd, mother okapi Betty gave birth to a female calf at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. Mother and daughter are bonding well, as the pictures below demonstrate. 

 

 

 

Learn more by clicking "Continue reading..."

The Original Sleep Number Bed

Born August 29th, this tiny, lanky baby Siamang sprawls out on his mother Haddie's tummy at Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo. A type of gibbon, Siamang are known for their unique "duets," where male and females each have a distinct part of a "song" they bark back and forth to one another across the jungle for up to 25 minutes.

Kee the Orphan Manatee

Baby “Kee,” found orphaned in the Withlaccoochee River in Florida arrived at the David A. Straz Jr. Manatee Hospital at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo in April 2009.  Weighing only about 50 pounds and estimated to be just a few weeks old, she is one of the smallest orphans ever treated at the Zoo’s hospital, and was considered to be in critical condition.  

 

She is receiving 24-hour care including night feedings, and has had some ups and downs as she continues to adjust to formula.  Animal care staff has paired the baby with a large adult female (or cow) named “Pneuport” (name is a combination of her injury and the city near which she was found).  The baby and cow have reacted very positively to one another, often seen nuzzling and sleeping together, and the baby will sometimes swim on the cow’s back.  The keepers report that Pneuport is very sweet and attentive, acting as a mother figure, although unable to feed the baby.  

Because these photos don't show the whole little guy, we have also included this video of another baby manatee taken in 2008 at the Lowry Park Zoo:

Lowry Park Zoo Welcomes Birth of Two New White Tiger Cubs

The Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida invites the public to see its beautiful new white tiger cubs. The cubs are only seven weeks old, so get over to Tampa for a first hand look at these Tiger Tots!

Photographs by Robert La Follette