Memphis Zoo Welcomes New Aardvark, Grogu!

Grogu was born on exhibit inside Animals of the Night before the Memphis Zoo opened on Thursday, September 22nd. Veterinary staff confirmed his mother's pregnancy via ultrasound in June, and the gestation for aardvarks is about seven months. Grogu's mother is named Sunshine, and his father is named Boss. Grogu is being hand-reared by keepers, as aardvarks can accidentally hurt an infant while moving around a larger space. Grogu was about 3 lbs. 11 oz when he was born.

Memphis Zoo Welcomes First Babies of the New Year

Memphis Zoo proudly announced the first two zoo babies of the new year- a Dik-Dik and a Bongo! Shortly before ringing in the new year, a Dik-Dik was born and has been staying warm inside with mom. She was named Hinata (pronounced Hee-nuh-tuh) which means “sunny place”. Zookeepers lovingly refer to Hinata as Hina for short. Hina was born to first time mom, Willow, who is two years old, and dad, Mike, who is 10 years old. Memphis Zoo's Dik-Dik can be found in the Zambezi Hippo River Camp where they share an exhibit with an okapi and a Helmeted Guinefowl. Since the Dik-Dik population in North American Zoos is quite small, Hina’s birth will help continue the persistence of the population. The Memphis Zoo has volunteered to be a breeding partner to help improve the population size for this species, so hopefully this is the first of many Dik-Dik births moving forward! Hinata and her mom will not be on exhibit until we begin experiencing warmer weather in Memphis.

The first animal born in 2022 was Zito, a baby male bongo. “Zito” means clumsy- which he very much is- or big- which once you see his ears, you’ll understand! He was born to mom, Marley, and dad, Franklin. Due to difficulties immediately following birth, Zito was bottle fed by his keepers for the first week to ensure his survival. After gaining strength and based on his mother’s behavior, he has been reintroduced to his mom and while he is nursing from her, staff will continue to supplement him as necessary. Since these animals are critically endangered, Zito’s birth will help ensure genetic diversity within the zoo population of bongos. He will be an ambassador for his species to educate the public about his wild cousins who need our help. Mom and baby will be on exhibit with the rest of the herd in the next few weeks, weather dependent.

About Dik-Dik

Dik-Dik are a very small antelope native to southern Africa. This shy and elusive animal spends most of its day concealed in a brush. Their name comes from the alarm sound they make when startled as they run in a zig-zag pattern.

About Bongo

Also known as forest antelope, Bongo are native to the forests of Africa. These animals are strictly herbivores feeding primarily grasses, leaves, bushes, and fruits. They are a critically endangered species with wild populations continuing to decline primarily due to hunting and habitat loss.

Bright Orange Baby Joins The Troop!

Memphis Zoo’s newest baby is a Francois’ Langur. The infant, named Ryder, was born to parents Jay Jay and Jean Grey. He is the pair’s fifth baby. He’s hard to miss as he is completely orange! Francois langurs are born orange to signify to the rest of the group that they are babies and need protection. The females in the troop all take part in helping raise babies, so he is often passed around from sister to sister. This gives the young females in the troop practice carrying babies. Ryder will begin exploring on his own, while staying close to mom in the upcoming weeks.

Francois langurs are native to the dense, humid forests and green valleys of southern China. Langurs are folivorous, meaning they eat leaves almost exclusively.

Giraffe Calf Born On-Exhibit at Memphis Zoo

The Memphis Zoo happily announced the arrival of a male Reticulated Giraffe calf on July 12. Giraffe mom, Wendy, chose to remain outside on-exhibit during her labor. Her new calf, Wakati, was born in the open area of the Zoo’s giraffe lot.

Wakati arrived after 15 months of gestation and is Memphis Zoo’s second giraffe birth in three months. His parents are first-time mom, Wendy, and experienced father, Niklas (who is also dad to Bogey, born April 3 of this year). Wendy was also born at Memphis Zoo in 2010 to mother, Marilyn, who remains part of the Zoo herd. Eight-year-old Niklas arrived at the Memphis Zoo in 2015 from the Naples Zoo in Florida.

“We are thrilled to welcome Wakati to our giraffe family, as we’ve been waiting a while for this new baby,” shared Courtney Janney, Area Curator. “Wakati means “time” in Swahili, and we felt it was a good fit for our new arrival. Wendy immediately began showing appropriate maternal instincts, and we anticipate her keeping a close eye on Wakati as he integrates into the herd and begins to show independence.”

Photo Credits: Memphis Zoo

After 24 hours of acclimation and close monitoring, Wakati’s first medical check-up was performed. This first examination ensured that the new baby was healthy and nursing, while providing the baseline needed to assess future growth.

“Wakati’s neonatal exam went great! He looks strong and healthy,” reported Dr. Felicia Knightly, senior veterinarian at Memphis Zoo Animal Hospital. “Wakati is 5’10” in height and weighed in at 125 pounds. He’s nursing well and Wendy is already taking good care of him.”

Wakati was welcomed into the herd by another female, Angela Kate, who was in the yard during Wakati’s first steps. Although Wendy started to bond with Wakati moments after the birth by licking him clean and encouraging first steps, Angela Kate remained close by to help.

The giraffe herd at Memphis Zoo has now climbed to a total of nine with the birth of Wakati. From 1996 to 2006, Memphis Zoo did not have a single giraffe birth. Since 2006, at least one new giraffe calf has been born every year. Memphis Zoo has kept Reticulated Giraffes in their facility since August 1957.

The Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulate) is one of nine recognized subspecies of giraffe. Easily the tallest species on the planet, the giraffe can browse on leaves that Africa’s other grazing herbivores can’t reach.

Giraffes travel in loose, informal herds and can be found in eastern, central and southern Africa. They range across savannah, grasslands, and open woods in search of trees (especially their favorite, acacias) to feed upon.

Ripley is Amazing: “Believe It or Not!”

It’s a birth for the record books at the Memphis Zoo! A male François’ Langur was born to mom, Tanah, and dad, Jay Jay, on April 12.

According to the François’ Langur Species Survival Plan (SSP), the leading authority on the total François’ Langur population, 22-year-old Tanah is the oldest Langur in captivity to give birth. In honor of this record-breaking fact, the new infant has been named Ripley...a nod to the quintessential purveyor of amazing facts: “Ripley’s Believe It or Not!”.

“This is our third François' Langur birth in three years,” said Courtney Janney, Curator of Large Mammals. “These animals live in social groups, and their young are raised communally. Tanah is taking very good care of him, but sisters Jean Grey and Raven spend a lot of time helping out by carrying him around!”

Photo Credits: Greg James / Memphis Zoo

Visitors to the Memphis Zoo’s François’ Langur exhibit will be able to spot little Ripley quite easily. When they’re born, Langur infants are bright orange. As they get older, their orange slowly fades into the black coat that all adults have.

Ripley and his parents are currently on exhibit, along with sisters: Raven, Rook, and Jean Grey.

The François' Langur (Trachypithecus francoisi), also known as the Francois' Leaf Monkey, Tonkin Leaf Monkey, or White Side-burned Black Langur, is a species of lutung belonging to the Colobinae subfamily.

The species is a native of Southwestern China to northeastern Vietnam. The species is named after Auguste François (1857–1935), who was the French Consul at Lungchow in southern China.

The François' Langur is currently classified as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The population has been on a steady decline for the past 30 years. Of the many factors threatening their survival, hunting has had the largest impact.

The Memphis Zoo has housed François’ Langurs since 2002.

Here Is the Latest on Memphis Zoo’s Sassy Hippo!

Back in the spring, ZooBorns was happy to announce the arrival of a Nile Hippopotamus at the Memphis Zoo. (“Memphis Zoo’s Beautiful Bundle of Joy Needs a Name”)

Mom, Binti, gave birth to the healthy 76-pound girl on March 23, and the sassy little Hippo soon became a Zoo favorite.

“This is one of our most significant births in a long, long time,” said Matt Thompson, Director of Animal Programs at the Memphis Zoo, after the calf’s debut. “It’s also incredibly special – as Binti and her baby are carrying on our legacy of Hippos in their brand new home, Zambezi River Hippo Camp.”

The new Hippo made her public debut April 8, and the Zoo immediately organized a naming contest for the new girl. After almost 23,000 votes were cast, the Zoo announced the winning name was “Winnie”.

Photo Credits: Memphis Zoo

This infant is the second for mother, Binti, and first for father, Uzazi. Nineteen-year-old Binti was born at the Denver Zoo. She arrived at Memphis in 2013 from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Her name means “daughter,” or “young lady,” in Swahili. Uzazi, the 16-year-old father, arrived at the Memphis Zoo in 2016 in preparation for the opening of Zambezi River Hippo Camp. His name is derived from a Swahili word meaning “good parent.”

Memphis Zoo plans to have little Winnie and her mom, Binti, on exhibit everyday. However, they will rotate on exhibit with the Zoo’s other two adult Hippos, Splish and Uzazi.

On the first Wednesday of every month, the Zoo provides video updates on Winnie. Check their website: www.memphiszoo.org/hippo or Facebook page for news on Winnie.

Baby Sloth Slooowly Stealing Hearts at Memphis Zoo

A baby Linné’s Two-toed Sloth at the Memphis Zoo is slooowly stealing the hearts of her keepers and fans, and she’s already made a special friend: a stuffed elephant that she clings to at naptime.

Photo Credit:  Adrienne Saunders (1,6,7,8); Memphis Zoo (2,3,4,5)

Named Lua, which means “moon” in Portuguese, the female baby was born on March 17 to parents Marilyn and Sparky. Marilyn had delivered other infants in previous years, but her babies did not survive infancy, so the staff decided to hand-rear Lua to ensure her survival.

When the staff is not holding Lua, she clings to the stuffed elephant, which strengthens her limbs and mimics the way baby sloths hold on to their mothers. Sloths spend most of their time upside down, hanging from tree branches in South American rain forests north of the Amazon River. 

Baby Lua is bottle-fed every two hours, which will continue for at least a month. Sloths grow slowly and Lua will require help from zoo keepers for about a year. She is currently being cared for behind the scenes.

Both Marilyn and Sparky came into the zoo population from the wild, making Lua genetically valuable.

Linné’s Two-toed sloths, also known as Southern Two-toed Sloths, feed on leaves and other vegetation.  They rarely descend to the ground.

See more photos of Lua below.

Memphis Zoo’s Beautiful Bundle of Joy Needs a Name

A big, beautiful bundle of joy has joined the Memphis Zoo family. The Zoo’s Nile Hippopotamus, Binti, gave birth to a healthy girl on March 23.

The 76-pound calf, which is soon-to-be-named, made her public debut April 8.

The Memphis Zoo is asking for help naming the calf. A contest is being held on the Memphis Zoo’s website: www.memphiszoo.org . The contest kicked off Thursday, April 6 and runs through Thursday, April 13 at noon.

“This is one of our most significant births in a long, long time,” said Matt Thompson, Director of Animal Programs at the Memphis Zoo. “It’s also incredibly special – as Binti and her baby are carrying on our legacy of Hippos in their brand new home, Zambezi River Hippo Camp.”

Mother and baby are bright and alert and can be seen in their new exhibit in Zambezi River Hippo Camp during the mornings.

“Binti is an extremely attentive mother and is very protective of her calf,” said Farshid Mehrdadfar, curator of the Memphis Zoo’s West Zone. “The little lady follows her mom around everywhere, and you can typically find her asleep on Binti’s nose or back.”

Photo Credits: Memphis Zoo

This infant is the second for mother, Binti, and first for father, Uzazi. Nineteen-year-old Binti was born at the Denver Zoo. She arrived at Memphis in 2013 from Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Her name means “daughter,” or “young lady,” in Swahili. Uzazi, the 16-year-old father, arrived at the Memphis Zoo in 2016 in preparation for the opening of Zambezi River Hippo Camp. His name is derived from a Swahili word meaning “good parent.”

This is a significant birth for the Memphis Zoo, and for the greater Hippo population, as only about 79 Hippos are currently on exhibit throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. The species is currently listed as “Vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List.

For more information on the new calf, as well as the opportunity to vote in the naming contest, visitors are encouraged to visit: www.memphiszoo.org/hippo .

Roses Are Red…and This Endangered Baby Is Too!

A highly endangered baby Sumatran Orangutan was born via Cesarean section at the Memphis Zoo on March 19, 2016. The new male is doing well and is being reared by his mother, Jahe (Jah-hay).

To celebrate the excitement of the new addition, the Zoo recently hosted a naming contest via the Zoo’s website, and the winning name is… Rowan (“little red one”)!

Photo Credits: Memphis Zoo

C-sections on Orangutans are rare, with only 18 of the 2,224 births in the International Orangutan Studbook being performed in this manner. Of these, Jahe and baby Rowan will be the ninth pair to survive the C-section birth.

This is the first Sumatran Orangutan birth at the Memphis Zoo since 2004, and to ensure the best possible care for the mother, a human obstetrician, Dr. Joseph C. DeWane, performed the C-section, with assistance from the veterinarian and animal care staff of the Memphis Zoo. At birth, Rowan weighed 5 pounds 4 ounces, which is large for a baby of this species.

"I was honored to be a part of this historic event at the Memphis Zoo,” said Dr. DeWane. “Our community is so blessed to have one of the top five zoos in the country. I know every time I visit the zoo, I will make a special trip to see Jahe and her baby.”     

Due to the mother’s surgery, the Memphis Zoo animal and veterinarian staff hand-reared the baby while Jahe recovered. Staff held and fed the infant around the clock, and spent their daytime hours in the Orangutan building with Jahe, where she could have visual access to baby Rowan. Jahe’s interest in the baby was encouraged and reinforced, and she was allowed to touch and examine him through the mesh as often as she liked while the keepers held him.

After 12 days, Jahe’s incision had healed well, and animal care staff orchestrated an introduction. Jahe immediately picked up the baby, and despite being a first-time mother, held him appropriately and inspected him closely. Animal care staff monitored the twosome around the clock for several days and noted successful nursing within 24 hours. The pair has been inseparable since.

The Memphis Zoo is one of only two institutions that have reintroduced mother and baby less than two weeks after the surgery.

“The baby’s upbringing was only unique in the first couple of weeks. We had to step in temporarily to hand-rear in order to allow Jahe to recover from her surgery,” said Courtney Janney, Curator of Large Mammals. “Once we were sure she was comfortable and healing well, we reintroduced the baby to his mother and she has completely taken over.”

This infant is the first for mother, Jahe, and third for father, Tombak. Jahe (18-years-old) arrived at the Memphis Zoo in 2010. Her name means “ginger” in the Indonesian language. Tombak (33-years-old) arrived at the Memphis Zoo in 1994. His name is derived from a Javanese word meaning “copper.”

This is a significant birth for the Memphis Zoo, and for the greater Sumatran Orangutan population, as only about 200 Sumatran Orangutans are currently on exhibit across the country. The species is listed as “Critically Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List.

“With just a few thousand of these animals left in wild, this is a momentous occasion,” said Matt Thompson, Director of Animal Programs. “I’m very proud of our animal care team that intervened and saved the lives of both mother and baby. This is truly an event to celebrate!”

Mother and baby are currently resting behind-the-scenes. The new addition is not yet on exhibit.

The Memphis Zoo currently has four Sumatran Orangutans. In addition to Rowan, Jahe, and Tombak, the Zoo also has Chickie, a 38-year-old female. Chickie is named after former U.S. Surgeon General, Charles “Chick” Everett Koop, who operated on her shortly after her birth. Orangutans have been housed at the Memphis Zoo since 1960, with the first Sumatran Orangutan arrival in 1974.

Jahe arrived at the Memphis Zoo from the Toronto Zoo, where she was born. Her mother, named Puppe, still lives at the Toronto Zoo, and was a wild-caught animal. This makes Jahe a genetically valuable animal.

Tombak is also the father of Elok and Indah, two previous offspring who were born in 2004. However, they both had to be hand-reared, and were later sent to the Houston Zoo.

The name Orangutan means “man of the forest;” they are the largest tree-dwelling animal in the world. Because of their arboreal nature, their arm span can reach 7 feet from fingertip to fingertip. There are two subspecies of Orangutans: Sumatran and Bornean. Orangutans have the second longest childhood, first being humans, spending up to eight ears with their mothers and nursing up to 6 years of age.

The Sumatran Orangutan (Pongo abelii) is native to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia.

More adorable pics, below the fold!

First Snow Leopard in Over a Decade at Memphis Zoo

The Memphis Zoo is closing out a purr-fect summer with a major announcement. The first Snow Leopard birth in more than a decade occured at the Memphis Zoo on July 19, helping a highly endangered animal make a comeback.

The cub, a male, was born to parents "Ateri" and "Darhan." Ateri, a first-time mother, is nursing the cub behind the scenes. The public will be invited to vote on their favorite of seven pre-chosen names.

"Ateri is a great mother," says Matt Thompson, Director of Animal Programs. "This was her first cub, and everything is going smoothly."

On September 3, Memphis Zoo veterinarians performed the first neonatal exam on the cub. He was declared to be in excellent health, and mother and baby are doing fine.