animalphiles

Central Park Zoo gets big-nosed newcomer

The Wildlife Conservation Society's Central Park Zoo has a new face and a rather funny looking one at that. With a giant snout and a tiny, toothless mouth, Pablo the tamandua certainly stands out in the Zoo's Rain Forest. The tamandua, otherwise known as a lesser anteater, arrived from Brooklyn's Prospect Park Zoo, another Wildlife Conservation Society Park.

Southern tamanduas, like Pablo, are indigenous to the Amazon basin and wet and dry forests of northern South America. They are rare in some areas, due to habitat loss as settlers move into their range. They are solitary, nocturnal animals and spend most of their day sleeping in tree hollows. They are rarely found on the ground, where they would be vulnerable to predation.

The long nose, hairless prehensile tail and large claws may make for an interesting looking mammal, but serve very specific purposes. Tamanduas use their big claws to dig into the trees, where they spend most of their time. Their tail wraps around the branches and anchors them to the tree, and they use their long snouts and exceptionally large tongues to dig into holes and fish out insects, especially termites and ants.

Pablo can be found on the upper level of the Zoo's Rain Forest. Although an anteater usually loves ants, Pablo'€™s favorite treat happens to be wax worms. He is enjoying his new home in Central Park, and Zoo visitors are certainly enjoying watching him acclimate to his new home as well.

Rare red panda cubs bring hope for species' future

Zookeepers are celebrating the birth of two extremely rare red pandas at Edmonton's Valley Zoo in Canada.

The cubs are part of a very small population of red pandas in the world. It's estimated that there are fewer than 2,500 alive in the wild because their natural habitat in China, India and Nepal is being destroyed.

Forty red pandas are being raised in zoos. The Valley Zoo has joined an international breeding program in an effort to keep the species alive.

Currently, the cubs are being kept away from the parents because the mother, Lala, was over grooming them and causing lacerations.

Sandy Helliker, an animal health technologist at the zoo, is taking care of the cubs. She has spent several sleepless nights this week hand-feeding the cubs, who need to eat every three hours.

It will be about three months before the cubs will be on display with their parents, Koko and Lala.

The zoo will hold a contest this summer to name the pandas.

The two new cubs won't be released back into the wild. However, their offspring could be.

Baby hippo gives Knut some competition?

One-month-old baby hippopotamus Paul made his first public appearance at Berlin Zoo Friday.

The BBC Web site, where this picture comes from, suggests Paul may pull attention away from the hugely popular polar bear Knut. Paul's looks alone may not be able to achieve that, but Knut is growing fast (he's six-months-old now) and rapidly losing the heart-melting adorableness of his youth.

Florida zoo enjoys red wolf pups

Two female red wolf pups are marking their one-month birthday at Florida's Brevard Zoo. You can see a great photo gallery at FloridaToday.com.

They'll be becoming more familiar to the public in coming weeks. "They are going to come out of the den and be curious and be a lot more playful," said zoo marketing director Andrea Hill.

In the dark dirt caves of the wolf enclosure, the pups are living off mom's milk. They will learn to eat real food in a month or so.

The Brevard Zoo is among 37 partners in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Red Wolf Captive Breeding Program, which has reintroduced some wolves in North Carolina after they were designated extinct in the wild in 1980.

Capybaras, monkeys - unlikely friends

Capybaras and squirrel monkeys don't cross paths in the wild (even though both are native to South America). But some are living in the same enclosure at a Japanese zoo and they've developed a friendship of sorts.

It's a somewhat one-sided relationship. The monkeys ride on the capybara's backs and even kiss the giant rodents. The capybaras, say zoo officials, generally just tolerate the monkeys.

Since local media reported on the odd pairing, hundreds of visitors have visited the zoo to see the animals in action.

Albino gator finds home in Knoxvile

An albino alligator doesn't need to worry about predators or sunburn at his new home at the Knoxville Zoo. She is on loan from the Alligator Farm Zoological Park in St. Augustine, Florida.

This gal came from a commercial farm nest where albinos are found every year. They are all believed to be the offspring of a pair who both carry the recessive gene for albinism.

She will get a name on Monday, win the winner of a naming contest is announced.

The Knoxville Zoo's resident reptile expert, Phil Colclough, says "Is she real?" is the most common questions asked by visitors. He says they stare until she takes a breath or moves her eyes or jumps in the pool."

There are about 50 white alligators at zoos nationwide.

First elephant born in Ireland

Dublin Zoo is trumpeting the arrival of the baby girl elephant -  the first ever born in the Republic of Ireland.

Zookeepers used infrared cameras to record the event as her mother, Bernhardine, an Asian elephant, gave birth in complete darkness in a special enclosure in the early hours of yesterday morning. The baby, which has not yet been named, weighed in at 176 pounds and was up and walking around within minutes.

Vets say mother and baby are both doing well.

Visitors to the zoo will be able to see the new baby and the other elephants, Bernhardine, Yasmin and Anak, in four weeks` time, when their purpose-built habitat, The Kaziranga Forest Trail, is unveiled.

 

Rare turtle born in Atlanta

A rare Arakan forest turtle has hatched at Zoo Atlanta, boosting conservation efforts.

Zoo Atlanta is the only place successfully breeding these turtles incaptivity, with four born in the past six years. Another egg is being monitored right now.

The species is native to Myanmar but has been hunted almost to extinction because of its popularity for use in food and Asian medicines.

“We are thrilled at this birth, but saddened by the dire situation this species faces in the wild, “said Dr. Joseph Mendelson, Zoo Atlanta curator of herpetology. “We hope to tell the story of the Arakan forest turtle and use it to educate the world about the importance of sustainable food sources.”
photo: AP/Gene Blythe

Rhino mom sets record

A Sumatran rhino at the Cincinnati Zoo has given birth to her third calf - setting a record for a rhino mom in captivity. The latest birth is renewing hopes for the critically endangered species (only about 300 Sumatran rhinos survive).

The mother, Emi, delivered her 86-pound baby boy Sunday. Both are said to be in excellent condition.

"He's doing awesome - an extremely healthy boy," said Dr. Terri Roth, the zoo's vice president of conservation, science and living collections. "He got up quickly and began nursing soon after. And he's a really big boy at 86 pounds."

Zoo visitors will have to wait to meet him. The baby is off display, bonding with Emi and gaining strength. But you can watch a video of his birth on the Cincinatti Enquirer's Web site.

The public should be able to meet him within two weeks, just in time for the May 12 opening of Zoo Babies.  In the meantime, suggest a name for the baby.

Springtime means babies!!!

There's a baby boom going on at the World Wildlife Zoo in Phoenix, with the arrival of a baby ring-tailed lemur, a capuchin monkey, a litter of warthogs and a pair of red-legged seriema chicks.

Warthogs have been hugely popular with zoo visitors since the Disney film, The Lion King. In the coming weeks, the small piglets will venture out from their underground dens under the watchful eye of their parents. The species is named for the large fleshy growths that develop along the sides of their face as they mature.  Adult males used these “warts” as a natural cushion during sparring matches with other males during breeding season.

Lemurs are a primitive form of primate and all species come from the island of Madagascar.  The island’s eventual isolation from the continent of Africa lead to the development of unusual animals not found anywhere else in the world.  Unfortunately, many of its species, including lemurs, are threatened with extinction due to human activities.

The other new arrivals come from South America.  The red-legged seriema has long slender legs, which enable this bird to meander through tall grasses in search of food.  It has an unusual method of hunting—it grabs small animals and reptiles including snakes and slams them on the ground in order to stun their prey.  One of our adult seriemas has been demonstrating this natural behavior for zoo visitors during Wildlife Encounter Shows for years; he even appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman in 2005.

Capuchin monkeys live in family groups.  For the first several weeks, the young monkey will be somewhat helpless depending upon the mother to care for, feed and carry it. Eventually, other members of the group will assist the mother in providing some care to the infant until it is large enough to move about on its own.