ZooBorns

Spot On! Newly Born Jaguar Cubs at San Diego Zoo

One of two Jaguar cubs born at the San Diego Zoo on April 27 takes its turn on the scale. The 12-day-old cub, which weighs 4.2 pounds, is still too young to get on and off the scale on its own. The two unnamed siblings will remain in the den for a couple of months until they are able to walk outdoors on their own. Keepers have yet to determine the sex of the cubs. The pair are the first Jaguars born at the San Diego Zoo since 1989.

Although these two young cubs may look adorable, females can grow to 70 pounds while males can reach 120 pounds. Jaguars are the largest cat in the Western Hemisphere and the third largest of the world's cats. The South American native word for Jaguar, yaguara, means "animal that kills in a single bound."

Photo credit: Ken Bohn / San Diego Zoo

Unfortunately, demand for the Jaguar's beautiful rosette-covered fur is one of the reasons this species is endangered. In addition, loss of habitat and the human-animal conflict have reduced populations of Jaguars throughout their range from North America through South America.

Twin Sumatran Tiger Cubs for San Diego Zoo Safari Park

These two Sumatran Tiger cubs were recently born at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. This is the 24th and 25th births of this critically endangered species for the Zoo. 

The cubs are still too small to leave their den and are being attentively raised by their experienced mother, Delta. On Thursday, keepers gave Mom a short break to stretch her legs and get a little sun while they took the opportunity to socialize with the cubs as shown in the video below. The 10- and 11-pound cubs are being desensitized to human touch in anticipation of vaccines and other necessary veterinary care.They are only just beginning to move around the den on their own paws. Keepers expect them to be more agile and ready to explore the outdoors in July.

Only about 400 Sumatran tigers are left worldwide. They're the smallest of the tiger species, but once grown, males can weigh up to 220 lbs. The San Diego Zoo is home to six Sumatran tigers and is fund-raising to build a new, forested tiger haven that will offer up-close views and highlight conservation efforts

Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo

 

Clean Bill of Health For Koala Joeys

Photo credits: Zoological Society of San Diego

Less than a year old and barely out of each mother's pouch, two young joeys visited the San Diego Zoo Safari Park's veterinary hospital for their first routine medical exam. The two youngsters, named Thackary and Milo, were born last year in the Zoo's Koala colony. Both babies are doing fine and received clean bills of health.

One Day Old Capybara Trots Out to Say Hello

This single capybara baby made its public debut yesterday at the San Diego Zoo in California. At only one day old, this little baby weighs 3 - 5 pounds (1.36-2.27 kgs) and has teeth that let it nibble on grasses!

In fact, the word capybara means "master of the grass" and its scientific name, Hydrochoerus, means "water hog" because of its love for water. The capybara, however, is not a pig as that implies, but the world's largest rodent species. An adult male can weigh up to 141 pounds and a female up to 146 pounds! and end up to be about two feet tall.

Capybara are highly social and live in groups controlled by a dominant male. Capybara females in a group are known to help care for and even nurse each other's young. This is the second capybara born in the past week and at this time, its gender is unknown.

Capybara are found in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guyanas and Peru, south through Brazil, Paraguay, northeast Argentina, and Uruguay. Semi-aquatic, they frequent dense vegetation surrounding lakes, rivers, swamps, marshes, and ponds.

Photo Credits: Sand Diego Zoo

Trinka the Wallaby Thrives After a Rocky Start

Trinka, an endangered Parma Wallaby joey, is being hand raised at the San Diego Zoo nursery. Her name is an Australian aboriginal word for daytime. She's small but strong, and her keepers describe her as sweet and expressive. She was found on the ground outside her mother's pouch when she was very small and had to be hand raised at the San Diego Zoo nursery. She was given a faux "pouch" to snuggle into and she comes out of it for a little exercise during the day. Feeding small babies like Trinka can be difficult, but the San Diego Zoo keepers are experts, and Trinka is doing great finishing off her four bottles a day.

Photo credits: Ken Bohn, San Diego

Meet Poco the Paca

Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo Safari Park

This is the first time a Paca has been hand raised at the San Diego Zoo or the Safari Park. Keepers hope he will one day be an animal ambassador, who does education programs at the Safari Park. The affectionate rodent was born Sept. 7, 2011.

"He's getting bottles four times a day of formula that mimics his mom's milk," said Kim Millspaugh, a senior keeper.  "From Day 1 he also was eating solids and he enjoys almonds, figs, and green bell peppers. His favorite is oranges."

Guests can see the baby paca, which looks a bit like a spotted watermelon on short legs, in the nursery called the Animal Care Center.

Have You 'Herd'? Baby Elephant Makes Three at San Diego Zoo

Umngani is a mom again at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The African elephant gave birth to a male calf at 5:45 a.m. Monday, September 26, making her the first elephant in this herd to give birth to three calves.

Umngani, her 5-year-old daughter, Khosi, and her 2-year-old son, Ingadze, can be seen by Safari Park visitors as they watch over the newest member of the family, who is as yet unnamed. Khosi, whose nickname is “the babysitter,” is living up to her reputation, proving to be a wonderful big sister! She keeps a watchful eye on the calf, making sure he doesn’t stray far from their mother. Khosi also places her body between the newborn calf and the rest of the curious elephant herd.

Umngani and her three calves will continue to bond in the upper yard, separate from the rest of the herd, while the newborn gets steady on his feet, learns to follow his mother closely, and has at least a full day of nursing to make him strong. The Safari Park is now home to 18 elephants: 8 adults and 10 youngsters.The adults were rescued in 2003 from the Kingdom of Swaziland, where they faced being culled. 

Photo Credit: San Deigo Zoo

Vote on ZooBorns' New Banner!

We're putting it to a vote. Will ZooBorns' new banner image go to the canids or the cats?  Cast your vote and decide which ZooBorn will grace the banner next!

Bottle-feeding A Baby Silver Leaf Monkey

A one-week-old Silver Leaf monkey is benefiting from a little human care at the San Diego Zoo. The female named "Thai" was born on July 3 to a first-time mother. Unfortunately Thai's mother was not holding the newborn in a way that allowed her to nurse naturally, so animal care staff intervened and are bottle-feeding the baby several times each day. The small, orange monkey continues to spend time with her family between feedings so that social bonds remain strong.

Photo credits: Zoological Society of San Diego

More pictures beneath the fold...

Gorilla Birth at San Diego Zoo

Kokamo, San Diego Zoo's  22-year old Western Gorilla, cradles her baby, who was born at 9 p.m. on June 17, 2011. It was determined that the infant was a male and he has been named Monroe! Monroe is the first gorilla born at the Safari Park since October 2000.

Both mother and baby are doing great and keepers report that the mother is taking excellent care of the baby, which is nursing often. The animal care staff report a very strong bond. A newborn gorilla grows quickly and can be expected to learn to walk on its own by six months; by 18 months of age, it can follow Mom on foot for short distances. Gorillas have been known to nurse for up to three years.

Photo Credit: San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo Safari Park now has 6 western gorillas, a species listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.Western gorillas live primarily with in tropical rain forests. A great deal of their habitat has been destroyed for roads and developments which have helped with the Gorillas decline in population. All gorillas are threatened due to poaching, hunting, habitat loss and many other reasons, most of them human induced.