Visitors to the Bronx Zoo can now see a 5-month-old okapi calf!  Okapis are distinctive animals that look like a cross between a zebra and horse but are actually more closely related to giraffes.  Okapi babies are unique in that they do not defecate for 4-8 weeks after birth. This is a natural defense that reduces any scents that may draw predators near while the baby is vulnerable.

A baby Grevy’s zebra was born at Busch Gardens Tampa on November 4. Within an hour of her birth, the little zebra was running with the rest of the herd.

On Tuesday, September 13 and Wednesday, September 14, starting at 8pm both nights, Nat Geo WILD is airing a special program devoted to sustaining vulnerable species called Miracle Babies.  In five hour-long episodes, viewers gain a window into the world of baby pandas, leopards, Tasmanian devils, lemurs, koalas, wallabies, ibises, parrots, and more.

Watch a video below of cute baby pandas raised in captivity in Chengdu, China:

Watch a video below of adorable baby sifaka lemurs:

Watch a video below of two baby Tasmanian devils (one baby even gets hiccups after feeding):

Three week old sand cat at Israeli zoo.

A rare sand cat kitten was born at the Zoological Center Tel Aviv Ramat Gan three weeks ago and is now on public view.

According to the IUCN Redlist, sand cats are threatened in the wild. They inhabit the deserts of the Middle East and northern Africa. There, they hunt primarily small rodents and get all of their water from consuming their prey.

For more information, see ThirdAge.com.

One of the new cubs at the Franklin Park Zoo peers at out of the nest box. Photo: Rebecca King Clayman/ Zoo New England via AP

A pair of red pandas were born at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, MA on July 4. The male and female cubs will be on public view by the end of October. Until then, the cubs will remain in a nest box with their mother.

In the wild, red pandas inhabit bamboo forests in China, the Himalyas, and Myanmar. The IUCN has classified them as vulnerable for extinction with fewer than 10,000 mature red pandas alive in the wild. Threats to the red panda include habitat loss and fragmentation as well as poaching.

To learn more about the cubs, see Boston.com and the Franklin Park Zoo website.

On Father’s Day, Miami Metro Zoo keepers were greeted with a pleasant surprise when they arrived to work: a newborn western lowland gorilla! The new baby, whose sex is still to be determined, was born to mother Kumbuka, 14 years old, and father JJ, 32 years old.

Baby gorilla with mother Kumbuka at the Miami Metro Zoo. Photo Credit: Armando Raul Rodriguez

To learn more, see:
Miami Metro Zoo’s Facebook Photo Album
SunSentinel.com

Photo by Toledo Zoo.

The Toledo Zoo in Ohio announced the birth of a healthy male African elephant calf.  The newborn elephant, weighing over 200 pounds, stood within minutes of being born and began nursing a few hours later.  The baby’s mother Renee has so far displayed “excellent maternal behavior,” but zoo staff will continue to monitor the pair ensuring they are both healthy and bonded.

Adult African elephants can weigh up to 6000 kg (6.6 tons) and measure up to 3.3 m (10 ft.) at the shoulder, making it the world’s largest land mammal. In their native habitat of sub-Saharan Africa, African elephants play a vital role in maintaining ecological harmony.  They ingest plants and fruits, walk for miles, and excrete the seeds in fertile dung piles. In this way, new plants can grow in different areas and can cross fertilize. In fact, 90 different tree species rely on the elephant for propagation. African elephants also dig holes to expose underground springs. This allows smaller animals to access water in drier times.

To learn more about the Toledo Zoo’s baby elephant, see Toledo Blade.

Learn more about African elephants at Animal Fact Guide.

A new Grevy’s zebra foal made her debut recently at the Bronx Zoo. Named Terri, the little foal can be seen at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s African Plains exhibit.  Baby zebras are born with brown stripes that darken to black as they mature.

In the wild, Grevy’s zebras are considered endangered by the IUCN Redlist.  Their range is limited to parts of Ethiopia and Kenya.  Threats include a reduction in water sources, loss of habitat, hunting, and disease.

For more information on the baby zebra, see Gather News.

A baby aardvark born April 10 made his public debut April 29 at the Jambo Junction in Busch Gardens. Photo provided by Busch Gardens.

On April 10th, a male baby aardvark was born at Busch Gardens, Tampa.  Visitors can sneak a peak at the new cub at Jambo Junction, located in the Nairobi section of the park.

In the wild, aardvarks are solitary and quite elusive.  But their range spans all of Africa south of the Sahara, and they are listed a species of least concern of becoming endangered by the IUCN Redlist.  They eat ants and termites.

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An injured adult sandhill crane and an orphaned crane chick bond at SeaWorld. Photo provided by SeaWorld.

A few weeks ago, the aviculture team at SeaWorld Orlando took into their care an adult sandhill crane with a rubber gasket stuck around his bill. The gasket not only made it impossible for the crane to eat, it impeded upon the proper development of his bill. The SeaWorld team removed the gasket and provided around-the-clock care to rehabilitate the bird.

While caring for the adult, SeaWorld rescued a newly-hatched, orphaned sandhill crane chick. Although older cranes sometimes do not tolerate unfamiliar chicks, the team decided to see if their rescued adult might act as a surrogate for the chick. And to everyone’s delight, the pair bonded!

By taking the orphan under wing, the adult crane has given the chick the opportunity to mimic and learn behaviors needed to survive in the wild. Eric Reece, SeaWorld’s Supervisor of Aviculture, adds, “The fact that the adult crane took to the chick bodes well for the development of the chick. It is now growing and doing well.”

Once the adult crane has recovered from his injuries and the chick learns to fly, both birds will be released into the wild together.

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