The keepers at the Bronx Zoo created a special holiday treat for their resident squirrel monkeys, blueberries encased in Jello. It looks like the monkeys had a little trouble getting the hang of the slippery treat but figured it out in the end and got their fill.

Sometimes animals outsmart us. This year, we witnessed several bold and cunning escapes.

Otter Escapes from Kansas Zoo
Kyra, a resident of the Hutchinson Zoo in Kansas, escaped from her zoo habitat on Valentine’s day and spent the week pond-hopping. Easily catching fish in other area ponds, she was unfazed by zookeeper attempts to lure her back with fish treats. But finally, she succumbed to the temptation of a hard-boiled egg.

Octopus Escapes New Zealand Aquarium
An octopus named Sid spent 5 days on the lam after escaping from his tank in a New Zealand aquarium. Sid managed to elude detection for those days by hiding in a drain that pumped fresh sea water into the aquarium.  He was caught after being spotted making a dash for an open door.

Orangutan Plans Great Escape from Adelaide Zoo
Jamming a stick into the wires of the electric fence surrounding her, Karta, a 27-year old orangutan, short-circuited the system. She then piled up debris near the concrete and glass wall and climbed out. However, after literally sitting on the fence for half an hour, she decided to go back in the enclosure after all.

Wily Prairie Dogs Escape New Exhibit at Maryland Zoo
Ten minutes after the opening of a new $500,000 prairie dog exhibit, the clever rodents found multiple escape routes.  Climbing and jumping over the walls, the prairie dogs had zoo workers in a frenzy chasing after them with nets.

Chimp Escape at the Chester Zoo
Thirty chimpanzees escaped from their enclosure at the Chester Zoo in England.  They made their way into a food preparation area and had the feast of their lives.

Harbor Seal Makes Trek into a Cape Cod Hatchery
Although this is less of an escape and more of a break-in, we had to include it. A young harbor seal was discovered in a state fish hatchery in the town of Sandwich in Cape Cod, where she had her pick of delicious trout to eat. What makes the story so interesting is that the seal would have had to waddle on land for 2 miles, including stretches on the boardwalk and through a tunnel under a busy highway, to make it into the hatchery.

The Daily Telegraph, a newspaper based in London, has released its annual slideshow of cute animals.

Visit the Telegraph to see them all.

Zoo Boise has announced the birth of a female cotton-top tamarin.  She is the first tamarin to be born at the zoo.

The baby is currently being hand-raised by humans as her mother lacks the skills to care for her. She is fairly weak and susceptible to human disease so she will not be able to be viewed by the public for several months.

Once the tamarin is placed on display at the zoo, there will be a naming contest.

Visit Zoo Boise for more.

Niabi Zoo in Illinois has welcomed a baby giraffe into their animal family. A newborn giraffe is nearly the size of a full-grown human. This baby was six feet tall and weighed 150 lbs.

Zoo keepers were on hand for the birth and a vet checked out the baby. He is doing well and progressing naturally.

The baby is yet to be named and will not be able to be seen by the public until May, when the park opens for the season.

To read more, visit the Quad City Times.

Read more about giraffes on Animal Fact Guide.

An international contest is underway to design inexpensive, innovative and attractive animal bridges that cross highways. The contest is sponsored by the Western Transportation Institute at Montana State University and the Woodstock Foundation in New York.

The contest focuses on West Vail Pass in Colorado for the site of the bridge. Officials and conservationists have been working to protect migration routes for animals in the state. A wildlife crossing will help protect the animals by decreasing the number of traffic collisions.

Read more at Summit Daily.

You may also be interested in our post about the wildlife crossings on a highway in Montana.  These crossings consisted of overpasses, tunnels, and pipes.

Four endangered northern white rhinos have been moved to Kenya from a Czech zoo. There are no northern white rhinos left in the wild and only eight left in captivity.

Wildlife workers hope that the move to the game preserve will result in an increase in reproduction for the rhinos. In 24 years at the Czech zoo the rhinos did not reproduce.

The overall aim of the project is to eventually reintroduce northern white rhinos into their native habitats in Africa.

Read more at GoogleNews.

For the first time octopuses have been observed using tools. Researchers discovered that veined octopuses, found off the coast of Indonesia, use coconut shells to build armor for themselves. The octopuses where spotted collecting coconut shells and taking them when they moved to protect themselves from potential predators.

This marks the first time an invertebrate has been discovered to use tools.

Read more at CNN.com.

Zoo sauvage de Saint-Félicien in Canada has welcomed two polar bear cubs. The cubs were born on November 30 of this year to Aisaqvaq, a resident of the zoo.

Aisaqvaq has been acting very maternal, caring for her newborns in a birthing den created by the zoo. This comes as a relief to zoo workers because Aisaqvaq ate her previous cub, born last December.

To read more and watch videos of Aisaqvaq and her cubs visit the Zoo Sauvage website.

To learn more about polar bears, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Polar Bear.

Federal officials have denied protection under the Endangered Species Act to black-tailed prairie dogs  last week after they determined that populations are rebounding.

In the 1900s, prairie dog populations numbered around one billion.  But their numbers had decreased dramatically to around 20 million as a result of habitat destruction, poisoning or shooting by farmers,  and the sylvatic plague.

Prairie dogs are considered a keystone species because they play an integral role in promoting animal and plant diversity in the Great Plains.  Their grazing and burrowing activity promotes a fertile environment for a variety of vegetation, which in turn attracts a multitude of herbivores like pronghorns, bison, and rabbits. Their burrows sometimes become homes for rabbits, salamanders, snakes, and burrowing owls. Finally, prairie dogs provide an ample food source for golden eagles, hawks, swift foxes, coyotes, badgers, and endangered black-footed ferrets.

For this reason, environmental activists are concerned about the lack of protection for the black-tailed prairie dog.

For more information about the new ruling, see the NY Times.

To learn more about the black-tailed prairie dog, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Black-tailed Prairie Dog.