Each Friday, ZooBorns.com shares their most popular births announced over the last week with HuffPost Green. ZooBorns showcases baby animals born at accredited zoos and aquariums as ambassadors for their species in the wild, raising awareness and support for conservation while they entertain.
Jarrah the Quokka at Taronga Zoo
Meet Jarrah, the six month old quokka joey currently being hand-raised at Australia’s Taronga Zoo. Jarrah left mom’s pouch too early and needs full time care, which is provided by keeper Kristal. For the next few months, wherever Kristal goes Jarrah will go too. By day Jarrah stays in a specially set-up nursery with a bag that mimics a pouch which the youngster can hop in and out of. While Kristal is doing office work, Jarrah likes to be extra close, curling up near Kristal’s chest. This makes little Jarrah feel extra secure.
At night Kristal takes the joey home with her. Jarrah keeps her on her toes, running around the house between her feet. Once Jarrah has used up all that extra bounce, it will curl up on her shoulder and give her a good lick on the face before nodding off. As any new parent knows, caring for an infant can be exhausting. Even after a full day at work caring for the animals at Backyard to Bush, Kristal is up during the night to make sure the joey gets a bottle.
Jaguar Cubs at Milwaukee County Zoo
Born in November 2012, the Milwaukee County Zoo’s jaguar cubs have thrived under the attentive care of their mother, Stella. While most adult jaguars in North American zoos were born in captivity, these cubs were sired by a wild born jaguar. The father, named Pat, was captured after killing livestock fourteen years ago. Pat adds valuable genetic material to the small population of captive jaguars.
Now on public exhibit, the cubs need names and the zoo has invited children from Belize to name one and the general public to name the other.
Baby Gorilla at Twycross Zoo
A baby Western Lowland gorilla born at the United Kingdom’s Twycross Zoo on January 3 adds a third generation to their already close-knit gorilla group. Mother, Ozala, experienced a natural and stress-free birth and is keeping the new arrival very close to her.
Curator of Living Collections Charlotte Macdonald said, “Ozala is a confident, attentive mother and is taking great care of her baby. The baby’s father, our silverback Oumbie, is gentle but protective and is showing a lot of interest in the infant. On the day of the baby’s birth he was very inquisitive, sitting beside Ozala and putting his face right up to the baby to smell it.”
Listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, fewer than 100,000 Western Lowland Gorillas remain in the wild, bringing the species dangerously close to extinction. Hunting, habitat loss and the Ebola virus have contributed to the species’ decline. Zoological Director Sharon Redrobe added: “Because the Western Lowland Gorilla is such an endangered species every Gorilla birth is important, and this infant represents another vital contribution to the European Endangered Species breeding programme and to the conservation of this species.”
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