A baby gorilla was born recently at the Ueno Zoo in Tokyo, Japan. MSNBC says animal lovers have already started to flock to the zoo to see the baby gorilla. Take a look:
San Diego Zoo managers have chosen to name a baby panda Yun Zi, which means "son of cloud."
In the end, the name that was bestowed upon this bear is one that pays tribute to an extraordinary mother, Bai Yun. Mama bear's name means "white cloud." And so, our little guy is from here on out to be called Yun Zi or "son of cloud."
The Chinese name, Yun Zi, was revealed at a ceremony at the Zoo's Hunte Amphitheater. Dr. Ron Swaisgood, co-head of the Zoo's Giant Panda Conservation Unit, shared the history of the giant panda at the Zoo, from Bai Yun's arrival in 1996, the birth of her five cubs here in San Diego, and an update on our newest panda.
The zoo received 6,331 name suggestions. Yun Zi was born earlier this summer and is now 3 months old. The zoo offers a live Panda Cam here.
This Reuters clip shows a Santa Claus in scuba gear givng an early Christmas treat to a Beluga whale at the Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Tokyo, Japan.
Elephants at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore enjoy pumpkins at ZooBOOO 2009. The little one does not know what to do with the pumpkins at first. It seems like the older elephant has experienced pumpkins before. Take a look:
Three rare white lion cubs, Portia, Phoebe and Pandora, have gone on show at the West Midland Safari Park near Bewdley, Worcestershire in central England. The mother of the white lion cubs keeps a close on eye them. Take a look:
You can also see some photos of the cubs here at the Daily Mail.
Demi Moore feeds in an orphan elephant baby in the photograph above. Demi Moore posted the photograph on her Twitter, @mrskutcher. The orphaned baby elephants are being cared for at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a charity in Kenya that rescues and hand-rears orphaned baby elephants so that they can return to the wild when grown. Demi Moore and her husband Ashton Kutcher both visited Sheldrick Wildlife to see the baby elephants. Demi says you should also follow Sheldrick Wildlife on Twitter, @DSWT. You can see more photos of Ashton and Demi and the elephants, here and here.
Berlin's famous polar bear Knut has been introduced to a female polar bear named Gianna. The polar bears were introduced to each other this week. Knut's early attempts to get Gianna's attention have failed but the zookeepers are optimistic the two bears will get along. Take a look:
The Allwetter Zoo in Muenster, Germany is showing off a baby rhino. The little rhino had to be separated from its mother after she became aggressive and nervous following the baby's birth. The rhino baby is adorable. Take a look:
Menari is a 3-month old baby Sumatran orangutan. Menari was born at the Audubon Zoo on June 10, 2009. Starting on September 26, guests will be able to see her each day between 1pm and 2:30pm in the World of Primates exhibit. Menari means "dance" in Indonesian. The zoo is having a Welcome, Menari Day tomorrow. You can find details here.
Giant panda mom Lou Sheng hold her twin cubs at the Shaanxi Rare Wildlife Breeding and Research Center in Zhouzhi County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Lou Sheng gave birth to the cubs on August 18th. The Daily Mailsays Lou Sheng was artificially inseminated.
The keepers of the Hacienda Napoles' Park in northwestern Columbia have adopted a baby hippopotamus that was abandoned by its mother. The park is part of an estate that was formerly owned by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. It looks like the hippo baby is enjoying its new home.
Aquarists at SeaWorld Orlando provided round-the-clock care for three endangered loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings last week. As you can see the sea turtles are very small. The Orlando Sentinelreports that the sea turtle hatchlings were returned to the sea after Hurricane Bill passed the region.
Utah's Hogle Zoo recently announced that three critically endangered male Amur tiger cubs have been born. The Amur tigers, formerly known as Siberian tigers, are part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' (AZA) Tiger Species Survival Plan (SSP). The Hogle Zoo reports that the mother Basha is doing an excellent job taking care of the three male cubs.
For the past couple of months these tiger brothers have become increasingly active and Basha is kept busy nursing and caring for her three active and playful cubs. Although this is first litter for her, she is proving to be an excellent mother. "With first-time moms we prepare ourselves to deal with the unknown. But Basha took on the three cubs like she was a natural; she was an extremely caring, protective, great mom from day one," says Hogle Zoo feline keeper Jill VanMilligen. She adds, "Basha was one of three cubs born at Hogle Zoo in 2003 and now watching her become a mom herself is incredible." This is the first time that Kazek, who arrived at Hogle Zoo in 2006 from the Buffalo Zoo, has sired a litter.
The cubs are absolutely adorable and they are going to get much bigger. Hogle Zoo says Amur tigers are the largest of all the cat species. Adult males can grow to be 11 feet long and weigh 400 to 650 pounds.
A five and a half feet tall giraffe calf has made her debut at Chester Zoo. Zookeepers are still looking for a name for her. You can help name the baby giraffe here. Take a look:
Apple had some Snow Leopard news today but these adorable Snow Leopard cubs are the real thing. The video from Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo shows two Snow Leopard cubs - Gobi (male) and Batu (female) - exploring their exhibit for the first time. It would be easier for them to explore their surroundings if they were not involved in a never-ending game of stalk and tackle. The song playing in the video is "Have You Ever" by Brandi Carlile. Take a look:
