The Newest, Cutest Baby Animals from the World's Zoos & Aquariums
Last month, a male Harbor Seal was born at the Los Angeles Zoo; this marks the Zoo’s first success at breeding Harbor Seals. The baby will remain off exhibit with his mother, Asia, until he is old enough to be introduced to the other adult seals. The pup’s father, Alfred, is a blind harbor seal that was discovered in 2007 on the shores of Cape May Point, N.J.
Photo Credits: Tad Motoyama
If you had to give out an award for the prettiest of all pigs, the Red River Hog would be a top contender. While the little hoglets don't have the orange-red fur of their parents, they do sport fashion forward camouflage stripes. These three little pigs were born at the LA Zoo at the end of May. Definitely worth a visit if you live in the area. On a sidenote, I think the music in the video is perfectly suited for piggy adventuring.
On Monday, April 26, 2010, a female desert bighorn sheep was born at the Los Angeles Zoo. The healthy newborn lamb is on exhibit with her parents in the North American area of the Zoo. As male desert bighorn sheep mature, they develop massive spiraled horns that may add up to one third of their total body weight. Females have much smaller horns. However, both sexes have excellent vision and hearing as well as an innate ability for climbing rugged terrain.
Photo Credits: Tad Motoyama / Los Angeles Zoo
Born on November 27, 2009, a snowy white Kikuyu colobus monkey was a welcome holiday surprise for the Los Angeles Zoo! The gender of the furry primate has yet to be determined, but at birth it weighed about a pound and measured around eight inches long.
Because breeding is closely monitored to comply with the Species Survival Program and the L.A. Zoo's colobus monkeys are genetically well represented in zoos, the mother was placed on implant contraceptives in October 2008. They were meant to be effective for a period of two years. Oops!
Colobus monkeys live in highly cohesive social groups so despite the "unplanned" nature of the event, father, mother and another adult female are all playing attentive and supportive roles.
The L.A. Zoo is inviting visitors to participate in a naming contest for the newborn through January 11, 2010, so if you live in Southern California, or have been looking for an excuse to visit (like naming a baby monkey) now's your chance. The winner will receive a free behind-the-scenes-tour of the Zoo for up to six people!
While they may look like over-sized guinea pigs, hyraxes are actually more closely related to elephants and manatees and in prehistoric times reached the size of a small horse! The LA Zoo welcomed two litters of baby rock hyraxes, one on July 11th and another on July 12th. If you ask me, they look pretty devious…
We here at ZooBorns have been waiting for great shots of a baby takin to share with you for quite some time and we are happy to say that the LA Zoo has delivered! On July 3rd they welcomed a baby female takin, a type of goat-antelope, like the serow we featured last week. The takin share their mountainous habitat with the giant panda and both are protected by the Chinese government.
Dad and baby have a moment
Mom looks proud
On June 20th the LA Zoo welcomed a new Japanese serow calf. A type of goat-antelope, Japanese serows live in dense forests basically minding their own serow business.
Gerenuks are shy, slight creatures. When threatened or preyed upon, a
gerenuk may stand very still behind a bush or a tree and slowly creep
away with its head lowered, or gallop toward a place of safety.
Although these antelopes are not particularly fast, they are difficult
to chase because they dart in, around, and between the desert bushes
and trees. These photos were taken at the LA Zoo just days ago.
Two adult female Gerenuk stand guard.
Thanks to MickiP65 for the photos via flickr.
Shy creatures that prefer to stay in the brush, duiker are small antelope from Sub-Saharan Africa. This little fellow was born at the LA Zoo on January 9th. While duiker feed primarily on leaves, buds, seeds, fruit and bark, they also will eat protein given the opportunity, and have been observed stalking and eating small rodents.
