Leahgates

Pip the Bennett’s Wallaby joey has had an unusual childhood to say the least – he's grown up in a reusable yellow shopping bag, and instead of his mom, he has a team of human caregivers at Singapore's Night Safari who take turns to shower him with love.

Photo credits: Wildlife Reserves Singapore

Keepers discovered the still-pink wallaby joey abandoned in the Wallaby Trail exhibit on May 31 when he was about two months old, and immediately rescued him. An attempt was made to reunite mother and young but this proved unsuccessful and a decision was made to hand-raise the joey, which has since been named Pip.

Only 5.64 oz (160 g) when he was found, the most pressing concern was to find a suitable space for Pip to continue his development in the same way he would in his mother’s pouch. In the early stages of a joey’s life, it spends all its time in its mother’s pouch before venturing out at about seven months. The keepers’ creative solution was to repurpose a recyclable shopping bag into a surrogate pouch. The recyclable bag was lined with a towel that had been sewn to resemble a pouch he could snuggle into. As Pip grew, the inner cloth was replaced to accommodate his size. The makeshift pouch turned out to be an excellent substitute as it provided the body warmth and shelter similar to a wallaby mother's pouch.

See photos and learn more after the fold!

After four months of intense and tender loving care from his keepers, Pip has grown by leaps and bounds to his current 1.17 lbs (530 g), and is now approximately six months old. He is fed every five hours with a special formula for macropods, and has started nibbling on leaves. A typical day also includes some time away from his yellow haven, when he exercises his muscles and goes for his daily weight checks. To monitor his health and development, his caregiver totes him about in his recyclable yellow shopping bag, to the vets, for his twice-weekly general health checks.

Keepers will care for Pip until he becomes more independent and has graduated to solids completely, within a year’s time. Once this happens, he will slowly be reintroduced to the mob of wallabies at Night Safari’s Wallaby Trail. For now, the recyclable yellow shopping bag is never far from the young wallaby, providing warmth and security approximately 20 hours a day.

Keepers say that once the reusable shopping bag has completed its tour of duty as a surrogate pouch, it will resume its initial purpose of helping to save the earth from plastic trash pollution.

Spring, in Australia, has heralded the arrival of more tiny paws at Taronga Zoo, with two new Koala joeys emerging from the pouch to the delight of keepers and visitors.

Photo Credits: Paul Fahy/Taronga Zoo (Koala Joey 'TJ': images 2,3,4,5,7,12 / Koala 'Baxter': images 1,6,8,9,10,11)

A male joey has appeared just in time to catch the warmer weather. The seven-month-old, who keepers have named TJ, is the first joey for mother Sydney.

“We’ve been seeing arms and legs and even a little pair of eyes peeking out from Sydney’s pouch in recent weeks, but he wasn’t ready to venture outside until this week,” said Koala Keeper, Laura Jones.

Sydney isn’t the only first-time mother at Taronga’s Koala Encounter, with neighbor Mallee also welcoming her first joey.

The male joey has been named Baxter, after a stringybark species called Eucalyptus Baxteri, and he’s already developing a taste for leaves.

“Baxter is chomping on leaves like a champion. He’s obviously still suckling from mum, but he’ll become more and more independent over the coming months,” said Laura.

“He loves climbing up near Mallee’s head to look around and I saw him step off on his own for the first time this week. He only lasted a few seconds before returning to mum, but he looked quite pleased with himself.”

Taronga’s Koala breeding program has now produced three joeys this season, with experienced mother, Wanda, welcoming a female joey in June.

Visitors have begun meeting the two new joeys at Taronga’s Koala Encounter, where they learn more about one of Australia’s most iconic species and how they are under threat from urban development and forestry breaking up their natural habitat.

Laura said it was particularly important for people to watch out for Koalas on the roads with the arrival of spring.

“All of last season’s joeys will be emerging from the pouch, so you’ll start seeing them riding around on their mothers’ backs. Koalas may also be ranging further and closer to roads as the trees start to improve in quality,” she said.

On August 24, Keren Peles, a 6-year old White Rhinoceros at the Zoological Center Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan in Israel, gave birth for the first time. The healthy female calf has been named Kipenzi (beloved). It is a tradition, at the Safari, to give offspring monikers starting with the same letter as their mother’s name.

Photo credits: Tibor Jager

Keren Peles arrived at the Safari about three years ago from Pretoria, South Africa, for reproduction purposes, with the aim of introducing a new blood line into the Safari's White Rhino group. The happy father of the new calf is 35-year old Atari, who is said to have been quite smitten with Keren Peles from the moment they met.

The calf's vital signs appear strong, and she remains close to her mother in a grove of trees in the African area. To the zookeeper's joy, shortly after birth, the calf was seen on its legs and suckling.

The new calf is the 27th born in the Safari. The Safari's contribution to the zoo population of White Rhinos is considerable, and the hope remains that one day it will be possible to help the wild population in Africa whose numbers are steadily declining.

The White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is the largest species of rhino and consists of two sub-species: southern and northern. The Safari belongs to the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s reproduction program. 

More pics below the fold!

The last of 26 Ornate Box Turtles hatched at Lincoln Park Zoo and Brookfield Zoo, in Chicago, this past week, as part of an effort to restore native populations in Western Illinois. The hatchlings come from nine different clutches provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

“Each year we learn more about Ornate Box Turtles and their preferred temperature for incubation and what conditions best enable them to grow before returning to their native habitat,” said Diane Mulkerin, curator for Lincoln Park Zoo. “The collaboration among conservation organizations enables us to take the head-start program one step further by increasing the number of turtles we re-introduce each year.”

Photo Credits: CZS/Brookfield/Chicago Zoological Society (Images: 1 - 6);Lincoln Park Zoo/Christopher Bijalba (Images: 7 - 12)The turtles will remain at their respective zoos for the next several months where they can thrive without the threat of predation or disease. Once the animals grow both in size and strength, they will be re-introduced into sand prairies protected by the Upper Mississippi National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in Savannah, Illinois.

“We’re thrilled to be working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Lincoln Park Zoo on this hatch and head-start program for the Illinois state-listed threatened Ornate Box Turtle,” said Andy Snider, curator of herps and aquatics for the Chicago Zoological Society, which operates Brookfield Zoo. “Assisting in cooperative conservation projects for local species, such as this, is one of many ways zoos can contribute to the overall health and welfare of wild populations.”

The Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata) is one of only two terrestrial species of turtles native to the Great Plains of the United States. It is one of the two different subspecies of Terrapene ornata, and it is the state reptile of Kansas.

The Ornate Box Turtle is listed as “Threatened” in the state of Illinois, and it is a protected species in six Midwestern states: Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Nebraska, Kansas, and Wisconsin. The IUCN Red List classifies the species as “Near Threatened”.

They are usually found in grasslands. Water is important to this turtle to regulate body temperature in hot weather and to replace body water after hibernation, but they do not spend large amounts of time in flowing or standing water. In winter, they hibernate in underground burrows.

The Ornate Box Turtle is an omnivore and an opportunistic feeder. Grasses, berries, insects, fruits, vegetables, and carrion are all utilized in their dietary pursuits. A normal clutch size is one to seven eggs.

The lifespan of the Ornate Box Turtle has been reported to be from 32 to 37 years. Although there are threats of predation from other animals and birds, habitat loss is the biggest problem for the turtle.

Cuban Hutias are not commonly seen in zoos, but NaturZoo Rheine has been home to some of these fascinating rodents since the late 1980s. Their current colony, originating from the Munich Zoo, recently increased its size. On September 1, two hutia mothers delivered their young; one birthed twins and the other a single birth.

Photo Credits: NaturZoo Rheine

Also known as Desmarest’s Hutia, the Cuban Hutia (Capromys pilorides) is a species of rodent endemic to Cuba. Weighing up to 19 lbs. (8.5 kg), it is the largest of the extant species of hutia.

They are found in a wide range of habitats throughout Cuba. In northern Cuba, they tend to be centered on areas where mangroves are abundant, and southern populations tend to favor terrestrial habitat.

Cuban Hutias normally live in pairs, but can be found alone or in small groups. They are diurnal and do not burrow. During the night, they rest in hollows of rocks or trees. They are omnivorous, eating mostly bark, leaves and fruit, but they will occasionally take in small vertebrates, such as lizards.

They breed throughout the year with a gestation period of between 110 to 140 days, although peak season is in June or July. They typically produce one to three young. The offspring are precocial, with fur, fully opened eyes and the ability to walk. In captivity, they are known to share nursing and rearing duties of all young within the colony. They are weaned at around five months and reach sexual maturity at about ten months.

Hutias were traditionally hunted for food in Cuba, as their quality of flesh and size provides a substantial meal. At one time, they were also raised as a minor stock animal. In 1968, it was made illegal to hunt or kill hutias without a permit from Cuba’s Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Cuban Hutias are currently classified as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, all other species of hutia are considered threatened (excluding the Prehensile-tailed Hutia, which is classified as “Near Threatened”). At least one third of the identified species of hutia are now extinct.

More great pics, below the fold!

Recently, the National Aquarium’s Conservation team welcomed 51 hatchling Diamondback Terrapins from the aquarium’s site at Poplar Island. After passing their Animal Health exams, these tiny turtles have remained under watchful eyes for a few weeks, making sure they are gaining strength and a healthy appetite. 

Photo Credits: National Aquarium

Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are native to brackish coastal swamps of the eastern and southern United States. Their range stretches from Cape Cod to as far as the Florida Keys.

In a few weeks, the terrapin hatchlings will be distributed to schools throughout Maryland as part of the National Aquarium’s “Terrapins in the Classroom” program! Through this program, students and teachers are charged with caring for a little turtle all school year. They collect growth data, observe behaviors, learn animal care skills and research the natural history of the species. In late spring, the students release the terrapins back onto Poplar Island. The hatchlings are quarter-sized right now, but throughout the year they grow steadily in a warm, clean classroom tank with all the UVB and basking heat they could want…and without fear of predators! 

Scientists are studying the impact of this ‘head start’ on adult terrapin populations around Poplar Island. Last year, a female head start terrapin was found nesting on the island for the first time, which is great news! 

“Terrapins in the Classroom” is one of many National Aquarium programs that provide a unique, hands-on opportunity for students to form a meaningful connection to the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Terrapins are a protected species in Maryland, as well as the state reptile, and their population numbers have stabilized only recently due to the diligence of local experts and supporters. 

Poplar Island is located in the upper Chesapeake Bay, about 34 miles south of Baltimore, Maryland, near Talbot County.

The habitat offered by Poplar Island and other remote islands has historically offered safe, relatively predator free habitat to many of the Bay’s diverse wildlife and bird species, as well as a safe harbor for the Bay’s fish and shellfish resources. Once a thriving 1,000-acre community, the island fell victim to erosion. In 1994, all that remained of the island were several small clusters of islets rising just above the surface of the water.

Reduced to 4 acres, Poplar Island’s disappearance seemed imminent. Rather than let the island disappear, federal and state environmental agencies decided the island is worth saving.

Partnering with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Port Administration, and Maryland Environmental Service, the National Aquarium is leading the effort to restore the island by planting native marsh grasses that will ensure added site stability, reduce the potential for erosion, and provide habitat for wildlife. 

Zoo Boise is happy to announce the birth of a Giant Anteater pup.  The baby was born July 6 and is now starting to venture outside with its mother, Gloria.  After a few weeks of privacy inside their barn, the two anteaters are starting to explore their outdoor exhibit for short periods of time and may be viewable to zoo visitors.  

Photo Credits: Zoo Boise

With the exception of mothers with offspring, anteaters are generally solitary animals.  Anteater Dad, McCauley, can be found in a separate exhibit next to Gloria and their pup. Keepers will verify the sex of the pup during its first veterinarian exam. After that, they will decide upon a name for the new anteater.

During their first year, giant anteater pups will spend much of their time riding on their mothers’ backs.  Born with a full coat of fur, the pup is able to blend in with its mother so that predators cannot easily see it.  The pup will stay with its mother until it is full-grown, between one and two years of age.

Also known as the Ant Bear, the Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is a large insectivorous mammal native to Central and South America. It is one of four living species of anteaters and is classified with sloths in the order Pilosa. The species is mostly terrestrial, in contrast to other living anteaters and sloths, which are arboreal or semi arboreal.       

The Giant Anteater can be found in multiple habitats, including grassland and rainforest. It forages in open areas and rests in more forested habitats. It feeds primarily on ants and termites, using its fore claws to dig them up and its long, sticky tongue to collect them. They can eat up to 30,000 insects in one day! Though Giant Anteaters live in overlapping home ranges, they are mostly solitary.

The species is the largest of its family: 5.97 to 7.12 feet (182-217 cm) in length, weights up to 73 to 90 lbs. (33-41 kg) for males, and 60 to 86 lbs. (27-39 kg) for females. The Giant Anteater is recognizable by its elongated snout, bushy tail, long fore claws, and distinctively colored pelage.

Giant Anteaters can mate throughout the year. Gestation lasts around 190 days and ends with the birth of a single pup, which typically weighs around 3.1 lbs. (1.4 kg). Females give birth standing upright. Pups are born with both eyes closed and begin to open them after six days. The mother carries its dependent pup on her back. The pup’s black and white band aligns with its mother’s markings, camouflaging it. The young communicate with their mothers using sharp whistles. After three months, a pup will begin to eat solid food and will be fully weaned at ten months.

The mother grooms her offspring during periods of rest that last up to an hour. Grooming times peak during the first three months and decline as the young reaches about nine months of age. The decline mirrors the weakening bond between mother and baby; young anteaters usually become independent by nine to ten months and are sexually mature in 2.5 to 4 years.

The Giant Anteater is classified as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Threats to its survival include: habitat destruction, fire, and poaching for fur and bush meat. The Giant Anteater is historically featured in pre-Columbian myths and folktales, as well as modern popular culture.

A North American Porcupine was born at Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo! 

The young male was born on July 28 to mother, Alice, and father, Patrick.  This is the pair’s third offspring, and the family is currently on exhibit in the zoo’s newly renovated Children’s Zoo.

Photo Credits: Julie Larsen Maher / WCS's Bronx Zoo

The North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) is a large rodent whose most recognizable physical characteristic are its spiky quills. They can have as many as 30,000 quills covering their bodies. The quills are modified hairs that are sharp, barbed hollow spines. They are used primarily for defense but also serve to insulate the body during winter. Despite popular belief, porcupines cannot shoot their quills, but when threatened, the porcupine contracts the muscles near the skin which causes the quills to stand up and out. The quills have a tiny barb on the tip that, when hooked in flesh, pull the quill from the porcupine’s skin and painfully imbed in the predators skin.

Porcupines are herbivores and eat leaves, twigs, and green plants. In winter, they may also eat tree bark.

Female porcupines are solitary, except during the fall breeding season. They have a long gestation period that lasts for 202 days and typically give birth to just one offspring. Baby porcupines (porcupette) weigh about 450 grams at birth. At birth, the quills are very soft but begin to harden a few hours after birth. The quills continue to harden and grow as the baby matures.

Females provide all care for the offspring, and for the first two weeks, porcupettes rely totally on their mother for sustenance. The babies will nurse for up to four months but begin eating solid foods as early as three weeks of age. The young stay close to mother an average of six months.

The North American Porcupine is listed as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List, but they are threatened, to some notable measure, by hunting and habitat loss. As of 1994, they were listed as an endangered species in Mexico.

On August 18, Cotswold Wildlife Park, in the UK, had a rather unexpected arrival. Their Southern White Rhino, Nancy, gave birth to her second calf. Keepers knew Nancy was pregnant, but the actual time of birth came as a bit of a surprise and was a little earlier than expected.

Births in captivity are considered extremely rare, with only fourteen White Rhinos being born in European zoos in the last twelve months. Cotswold Wildlife Park was responsible for two out of the three recorded UK births. The new addition is the sixth member to join the ‘crash’ (the collective noun for a group of Rhinos).  

Photo Credits: Cotswold Wildlife Park

 Curator Jamie Craig commented: “After almost forty years of desperately trying to breed from our old group of Rhinos with no success, we are delighted to now have had three calves since 2013. The newest member of the crash was somewhat more of a surprise than we’d like, but at present, all seems to be going well.”

It’s been a remarkable few years for the Rhino family. In 2013, first-time parents, Monty and Nancy (both nine years old), delighted staff and visitors when they produced the first calf in the Park’s forty-three year history - a female named Astrid. Two years later, she has been joined by a baby brother, who is yet to be named. To add to the celebrations, earlier this year, another of the Park’s breeding females, Ruby, gave birth to a male calf, named Ian.

Southern White Rhinos (Ceratotherium simum simum) are the largest of the five Rhino subspecies and range throughout the grassland of Southern Africa. They are currently classified as “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red List and have always been an important species at Cotswold Wildlife Park, which was founded by Mr. John Heyworth in 1970. His son Reggie Heyworth, Managing Director of Cotswold Wildlife Park, commented: “You wait forty years, then it seems like three come along at once!  This is such a happy event for the Park, and I have to pinch myself when I see six rhinos on the lawn.”

Females only reproduce every two-and-a-half to five years, so the window of opportunity for successful reproduction is limited. After a gestation period of sixteen to eighteen months, a single calf is born. Nancy is proving, once again, to be an excellent and very protective mother. A newborn calf will stand up within one hour of birth and immediately attempt to suckle, although he may be a little unsteady on his feet for the first few days. He will remain under the watchful eye of his mother, suckling from her for approximately one year. Their bond is an intensely strong one and the calf will remain with his mother for at least two years, benefiting from her protection. Females guard their offspring aggressively and are intimidating adversaries if challenged.

Unbelievably, these iconic animals were once the rarest subspecies of any Rhino and were on the verge of extinction in the early 1900s, when it was believed only twenty to fifty animals remained in their native African homeland. Thanks to excellent and sustained protection, they are now the most common of the five Rhino subspecies, although poaching in the last five years has once again escalated to serious levels, driven by demand for rhino horn from the traditional medicine market of China and the Far East.

Cotswold Wildlife Park is committed to Rhino conservation and works closely with Tusk Trust to promote vital conservation work. Find out more at http://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk/conservation and www.tusk.org.

The Saint Louis Zoo announced that two critically endangered Horned Guan chicks hatched at the Zoo on August 7—the first for the Zoo and only the second recorded breeding of the species in the United States. 

Photo Credits:  Ray Meibaum (1, 2, 3); David Merritt (4)

Because these are the first offspring for the inexperienced parents, the chicks are being hand-raised behind the scenes.

At two weeks old, the chicks weighed five ounces, stood about 8 inches tall and had fuzzy brown and black downy feathers. Their unique horns will start to develop at approximately 3 months of age. The horn begins with two bumps on the top of the head. These bumps gradually twist and grow together.

One of the rarest bird species in the world, the Horned Guan population in the wild is down to only 1,000 to 2,000 individuals in southeastern Mexico and Guatemala because their cloud forest habitat has been destroyed for logging, coffee plantations and other cash crops.

“This hatching is an important development in what has been a great effort to save this species; it was the result of many years of hard work,” said Jeffrey P. Bonner, Dana Brown President and Chief Executive Officer at the Saint Louis Zoo. “It took great attention to the welfare of the parents and enormous patience and persistence” from the zoo staff to achieve this milestone.

The parents of the two chicks are a male, age 12, who arrived at the zoo nine years ago and a female, 7, who arrived five years ago from the Cloud Forest Ambassadors Program at the Africam Safari Zoo in Puebla, Mexico, where they hatched. In 2007, the Saint Louis Zoo became the first accredited zoo in the nation to exhibit this species. Currently 56 Horned Guans are found in five institutions primarily in Mexico.  

Large and dramatic, the adult Horned Guan (seen in the bottom photo) has a unique two-inch-long red horn of bare skin extending from the top of its head. This horn is thought to be ornamental to attract a mate. This bird has a bright white chest laced with fine lines of black feathers and a body covered with a jet black plumage that shines an iridescent blue in the sun. They are about the size of a small turkey and are arboreal, rarely coming to the ground in their native mountain forests. Horned Guans are related to some of the most endangered birds in the world—Curassows, Guans and Chachalacas.

The Saint Louis Zoo began working intensively with other species of Guans in 1997, when it received a $25,000 Institute of Museum Services grant to investigate artificial insemination techniques in this highly endangered group of birds.  The zoo was also the location for the first ever hatching of a chick—a common Piping Guan—from the artificial insemination of a cracid species. Cracids are a family of game birds, like the Horned Guan, that are found predominantly throughout the Latin American tropics.

Since then, the zoo has worked with this endangered family of birds in Trinidad and Columbia and, in 2004, founded the WildCare Institute and the Center for Conservation of the Horned Guan. The Horned Guan Conservation Center staff has worked for a decade with its partners to conduct research on this elusive species. The complex dynamics of seed dispersal and habitat utilization are little understood.

The Center also is encouraging improved habitat management—advocating for increasing the protected area that is home to the Horned Guan and working to limit the factors that threaten vulnerable wildlife in this area. In addition, the Center has initiated an education program to teach local communities how to farm in more habitat-friendly ways and to strengthen community conservation participation.

“These programs, coupled with enforcement action, are expected to help reduce the threats caused by illegal timber removal and hunting,” said Center Director Michael Macek. “There is hope for this species thanks to efforts to reduce coffee plantations and to form additional reserves that can provide potential for eco-tourism, resulting in alternative economic opportunities for local communities.”