The Dibbler, an endangered carnivorous marsupial, has made a return to Perth, Western Australia, with the release of 54 individuals into a local metropolitan park, this October.

Photo Credits: Perth Zoo

The Perth Zoo bred animals were released into a 150 hectare (371 acre) fenced area at Whiteman Park, giving them a chance to establish in the absence of foxes and cats, which have likely contributed to their decline in the wild.

Lisa Mantellato, from Perth Zoo’s Native Species Breeding Program, said: “We have bred Dibblers for release into various habitats in the past, but this is the first time they have been returned to metropolitan Perth. Judging from sub-fossil records, Whiteman Park formed part of the Dibbler’s former natural range. We hope that through this program we can establish a self-sustaining population of Dibblers within the metropolitan parkland.”

Perth Zoo has been breeding Dibblers for release since 1997 resulting in the establishment of two new wild populations. In 1996, the first recovery plan was put in place by the Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife, with an aim to increase the species’ numbers and expand their distribution. The 2007 recovery plan maintains the need for a captive breeding colony to establish further populations.

Dr Tony Friend, from the Department of Parks and Wildlife said: “Establishing populations of small carnivores is always challenging and the Dibblers certainly fit that bill with a short life-span, matched with a ‘live fast and die young strategy to life’. So anything that limits the success of the first few years of breeding in the wild can have a big impact.”

Fourteen of the Dibblers will carry tiny radio transmitters, weighing less than one gram each, to assist in determining the success of the reintroduction into the predator-free area. University of Western Australia researchers will undertake the monitoring to learn more about the habits of this crepuscular animal and help inform future recovery actions.

This endangered Western Australian species was once found in coastal areas around the south-west corner of Australia, from SharkBay around to Albany and east to the western parts of South Australia, but by the early 1900s they were thought to be extinct. Only a chance discovery in 1967 revealed the species still survived, though in much smaller numbers. Since then, Dibblers have only been found to survive, in the wild, on two small Jurien Bay islands and in the Fitzgerald River National Park.

The Dibbler is threatened by loss of habitat caused by land clearing, the plant disease Phytophthora, die-back, and wildfires. On top of that, introduced foxes and cats also prey on them.

Perth Zoo’s Native Species Breeding Program breeds threatened Western Australian fauna for release into natural habitat. Since 1992, more than 2700 animals bred at the Zoo including Dibblers, Numbats, Western Swamp Tortoises and endangered frogs have been released into the wild and through this collaboration between Parks and Wildlife and Perth Zoo, a huge effort continues to save the State’s wildlife.

Denmark’s Odense Zoo welcomed five Miniature Pig babies on November 20.  The Piglets are thriving under the care of their mother, and are getting accustomed to their home in the zoo’s farmhouse.

Photo Credit:  Odense Zoo

Miniature Pigs are popular as pets or on small farms, and though they can weigh up to 200 pounds as adults, are far smaller than a typical domestic pig.  Pigs are intelligent animals and can be house-trained and to perform behaviors. 

Like all Pigs, Miniature Pigs have an excellent sense of smell.  They use their stubby snouts to dig for roots and tubers, and will also feed on a variety of plant material and small animals.

See more photos of the Piglets below.

Lion Triplets Get Cuter Every Day

Orphaned Cougar Kitten Finds a Home at Stone Zoo

Rare Baby Orangutan is First US Birth in 2014

Endangered Pangolin Receives Special Care

Three endangered African Wild Dog pups raised by a Golden Retriever at the Oklahoma City Zoo now have names refelecting their African heritage and their surrogate mother.

Photo Credit:  Oklahoma City Zoo

Born on November 7, the pups were removed from their mother when keepers observed that she failed to provide maternal care.  When the pups were a few days old, they were placed with  Lilly, a Golden Retriever who was a proven mother and had just delivered a single pup herself.  You can read the pups’ story in this ZooBorns post.

The pups, two females and one male, now weigh six pounds and have been weaned from Lilly.  

The zoo staff chose the pups’ names to reflect their African heritage and to honor their surrogate mom. Ayana’s name translates as ‘beautiful flower,’ while Zahra’s name means ‘flowering.’  Male pup Maji’s name translates as ‘water lily.’  Lilly’s pup has been named Uno.

All four of the pups have benefitted from their time together, as Lilly has taught them “dog etiquette” and many other important social skills.  Lilly, a former rescue dog, will soon leave the zoo with Uno.  

Ayana, Zahra, and Maji are gradually being introduced to the other members of the zoo’s African Wild Dog pack. For now, they can see and smell each other, but it may be several months before they fully integrate with the pack.

African Wild Dogs have vanished from much of their range in sub-Saharan Africa.  They live highly social lives in packs of 2-20 adults and their pups.  They specialize in hunting Gazelles, which they chase to exhaustion.  Food is regurgitated not only for pups, but for other adults as well, and this forms the basis of important social connections within the packs.  African Wild Dogs are listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 

On December 6, 2014, a Prehensile-Tailed Porcupine was born, on exhibit, at the Virginia Zoo. 

Photo Credits: Virginia Zoo / (Image 2: Meg Puckett)

After several days of close observations, animal care and veterinary staff were not comfortable with the level of care that first-time mom,‘Cayenne’, was giving the youngster, so after much internal discussion as well as consultation from experts at the National Zoo, it was decided to remove the baby from the parents and hand-rear it.  The baby is yet to be named and its sex is not physically able to be determined at this point.

The birth of this unique animal illustrates the Virginia Zoo’s breeding and conservation success. This birth is significant because it provides opportunities for Zoo staff and visitors to learn more about these unique animals and their role in our world. It also helps to maintain and support a healthy and self-sustaining population that is genetically diverse and demographically stable.

Prehensile-Tailed Porcupines are native to Central and South America. They are closely related to other Neotropical tree porcupines. Aside from their unspined prehensile tails, their other notable features are: front and hind feet modified for grasping, enabling them to be adept climbers.

Being nocturnal, they prefer to sleep, sometimes in small groups, during the day. At night, they awaken and begin foraging for food. Their diet consists, primarily, of leaves, shoots, fruits, bark, roots, and buds.

A female will usually give birth to a single offspring. The baby is born hairy, reddish-orange, and generally weighs about 14 ounces. The young are born with their eyes open and can climb almost immediately, after birth. Their spines will harden within about one week, and in time, the baby’s reddish coloring will begin to change to creams, yellows, browns and black. Mothers nurse their young until about 3 months of age. The young will reach adult size in less than a year and will reach sexual maturity in less than two years.

Prehensile-Tailed Porcupines are not listed as threatened or endangered, but they are pressured by habitat loss and are killed in certain areas by hunters.

A Taronga Zoo keeper has begun the round-the-clock task of caring for a six-month-old Quokka, one of three joeys born at the Zoo this breeding season.

Photo Credits: Paul Fahy/Taronga Zoo

Keeper Bec Russell-Cook has spent the past week carrying a makeshift pouch and waking at 2am for one of five daily bottle feeds, as she helps with the female joey’s weaning process.

The joey, who Bec has named ‘Meeuk Mia’ or ‘Mia’ for short, will grow up to have an important role at Taronga’s Education Centre, meeting and helping children learn about the importance of looking after native wildlife.

Bec said the joey, whose name means “halo of the moon” in the language of the Noongar people from Western Australia, is already growing in confidence.

“She’s quite the little climber. She loves climbing on the other keepers’ shoulders and heads during morning tea and I even woke up one night to find her looking at me from atop a mountain of pillows next to my bed,” said Bec.

For now the joey’s diet consists of a special milk mixture and the occasional nibble of native grass and flowers, but she’ll be introduced to solid foods such as carrot in the next few weeks.

“The 2am bottle feeds are certainly the toughest, as Mia gets tired and falls asleep while she’s drinking,” said Bec.

Mia is the youngest of three Quokka joeys born at Taronga this year. The Zoo is part of a national breeding program, helping to establish an insurance population to safeguard the species into the future.

One of the smallest wallaby species in Australia, Quokkas are found in high numbers on RottnestIsland and in small populations in the south-west of Western Australia. With their geographical range being limited to this small area, the species has been classified as vulnerable.

“If a natural disaster or disease were to hit RottnestIsland it would be devasting for Quokkas, which is why an insurance population is so important,” said Bec.

Mia will continue to be nursed by Bec until the joey is old enough to join Taronga’s trio of hand-raised Quokkas, ‘Poppy Lou’, ‘Autumn’ and ‘Jarrah’, at the Education Centre. 

More amazing pics, below the fold!

Some may like it hot, but not Australia’s Fruit Bats.  A spring heat wave with temperatures over 100 degrees F has killed many adult Fruit Bats, leaving their babies orphaned and in need of care.  That’s why the Australian Bat Clinic and Wildlife Trauma Center has been inundated with rescued baby Bats in recent months.

Photo Credit:  Adam Cox
Entire colonies of Gray-headed Flying Foxes and Black Flying Foxes have been wiped out due to the extremely high temperatures.  Often, when the mothers die, their babies are still attached to their teats.  Without immediate rescue, these babies will face the same fate as their mothers.

When the baby Bats enter rehabilitation, rescuers’ first jobs are to help the babies feel secure and to feed them.  The rubber nipples tucked into the babies’ mouths help them feel as if they are still attached to their mothers’ teats.  When the babies are wrapped in tiny blankets (causing the babies to resemble little Bat burritos), they feel safe in their temporary home.  A little affection from the rescuers helps too.

After a few months, rescuers will release the baby Bats back into the wild. 

Flying Foxes are Bats that feed primarily on fruit, pollen, and nectar.  The world's 60 species of Flying Foxes are found in tropical regions.  Unlike insect-eating bats, which are usually smaller in size, Flying Foxes do not use echolocation to find food.  Instead, they have well-developed senses of smell and eyesight.  Many species of Flying Fox are threatened with extinction due to illegal hunting and persecution.

See more photos of the baby Bats below.