Archive for the ‘Births and Arrivals – New Animals!’ Category

Jun
10

Pet Chimpanzees Will Relocate to Houston Zoo – Just in Time

Posted by in Animal News & Updates,Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Zoo News

Release by Lincoln Park Zoo and Project ChimpCARE

chimpacquisitionSix chimpanzees currently living at a residence in Mechanicsville, Va., will find a new home at Houston Zoo later this year, thanks to long-running efforts by Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCARE, Houston Zoo, and Curtis and Bea Shepperson, the chimps’ current owners.

The news comes ahead of a county-issued June 23 deadline to relocate four of the chimps and ensures a bright future for the animals, as they will be able to remain together as a family unit in an accredited zoo.  The Sheppersons had been under pressure from local officials to relocate the chimpanzees because of a recent escape and lack of proper licenses. No suitable placement options were available – until now.

“This is an extremely positive resolution for everyone involved, but most of all for the chimpanzees themselves,” said Dr. Steve Ross, head of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCARE and chairman of the chimpanzee Species Survival Plan (SSP), who first began working with the Sheppersons in 2010. “Keeping the chimps together in their social group is unquestionably the best move for their wellbeing, and the animals are now poised to receive the lifetime care they deserve. This outcome is a testament to what good can come from cooperation by people on all sides of an issue.”

That cooperation is at the heart of Project ChimpCARE, whose goal is to provide suitable housing for all of the some 2,200 chimpanzees living in the U.S. by promoting collaboration between accredited institutions and private owners like the Sheppersons.

“We have looked after these chimpanzees for most of their lives, and we will miss them dearly when they go,” said Curtis Shepperson. “But, we have always wanted what is best for them, and sending all six chimpanzees as a complete group to Houston Zoo is just that.”

This is the second time Project ChimpCARE and Houston Zoo have collaborated.  In 2009, ten chimpanzees took up residence in Houston’s new exhibit after years working in the entertainment industry; the chimps have flourished there.

“We are delighted to offer a home to this troop,” said Beth Schaefer, Houston Zoo’s Curator of Primates and Carnivores. “Our proven experience with privately-owned chimps puts us in a unique position to provide the best possible care for these animals. Our chimp habitat is the newest in the nation and is widely regarded as one of the world’s pre-eminent facilities.”

The move is expected to take place later this year, pending veterinary examinations, and logistical details are still under development. But everyone involved agrees this is the long-awaited happy ending to a complicated and emotionally-charged story.

For more information about Lincoln Park Zoo’s Project ChimpCARE visit: www.chimpcare.org

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Jun
05

Critically Endangered Turtles hatched AGAIN!

Posted by in Behind the Scenes,Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Conservation,Zoo News

Picture taken by Beth Moorehead

You may remember that on March 5th, we discovered during a physical examination on our Madagascar big-headed turtles that 2 of our females had eggs!  Since the ground was still too cold for the eggs to be able to develop, we induced the females to lay their eggs in the safety of our clinic.  The two females laid a total of 33 eggs!  We have taken those eggs and put them in incubators behind the scenes of our Reptile house.

We are proud to announce that on May 18th and 19th, three Madagascar big-headed turtles have hatched!  Unfortunately, the rest of the eggs proved to be infertile which is common in young female turtles that have just reached maturity.  The hatchlings will be kept behind the scenes until they are big enough to be on exhibit.  Meanwhile, you can see their older siblings that hatched last September 15th, on exhibit inside the reptile house.

Remember to keep a lookout in our lemur exhibit for any nesting activity by our adult big-headed turtles.  When you are looking at the left bank of the lemur island, look for the special area keepers have made with a mixture of sand and dirt to make it easier for the turtles to dig in.  This is where last year’s hatchlings emerged – and we are very eager to have a repeat clutch of eggs laid in the very same spot!

To learn about conservation efforts in the wild, visit the Turtle Survival Alliance webpage.

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May
31

Baby Nyala Born May 21

Posted by in African Forest,Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Hoofed Stock,Zoo News

This post written by Memory Mays
On May 21 2013, the hoofed stock team at the Houston Zoo greeted their newest and youngest member! Ivy, one of our female Nyala antelopes, gave birth to her first calf that day. The calf only weighs 11 pounds and has been named Willow.

Normally a baby Nyala will hide in bushes for about the first 2 weeks, receiving frequent visits from its mother to nurse. However, our little Willow is very easily seen in our new Nyala exhibit. Her favorite place is right in the center of the hay pile under the shelter so everyone can see her. When she isn’t taking a nap, she is probably playing and running with her half brother Peanut who is only 6 weeks older than her. During your next visit to the zoo, stop by to see these two adorable calves!

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May
07

Julius the Sifaka Grows by Leaps and Bounds!

Posted by in Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Mammals: Our Furry (and Hairy!) Friends,Primates

Remember that tiny Coquerel’s Sifaka infant that was born on January 28th?  Well, Julius is growing by leaps and bounds!  When he was born, he weighed only 96 grams (3.4 ounces).  He is now a whopping 394 grams (13.9 ounces)!  You can often see him riding on his dad, Gaius, or mom, Zenobia’s, back.  He is getting brave and starting to build his muscles by leaping around his parents as they keep a watchful eye on him.

Julius is also starting to eat on his own.  While he is still reliant on his mother’s milk until he is about 6 months old for most of his nutrition, he has grown quite the appetite for edible leaves we call “browse”.  Be sure to keep an eye out for the keeper chats in Wortham World of Primates focusing on Sifaka as well as  Spotlight on Species event featuring all of our lemurs at the end of August.  These are great times to see the Sifaka up close and get all of your questions answered!

Photos by Tina Carpenter

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Apr
16

Our Lemur Family Expands – A New Baby is Born

Posted by in Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Primates

As many of you may remember, last July we were astonished to find our adult female Ring-tailed lemur “Cairrean” giving birth out on the exhibit in the middle of the afternoon. Most of our primate babies are born overnight, inside the nighthouse (with the exception of a few species that are documented to have more of a tendency to give birth during the day, like Pied tamarins and Patas monkeys.) Well, she’s done it again! Nine months after little “Howie” made his appearance into the world, Cairrean went into labor out in the lemur yard and produced another infant at 7 PM on April 11th.  Keepers Amy and Mary were bringing the group inside at the end of the day as usual and wondered why Cairrean wouldn’t come in, and they went outside to look and discovered right away what the issue was – a brand new baby that she was still cleaning off. The Keepers had to wait until she was finished making sure the baby was properly washed and groomed before she brought it inside, clinging to mama’s belly like a ring-tailed tick.

Photo by Dale Martin

Despite the surprise of finding her giving birth while the sun was still out yet again, we did surmise that she was pregnant prior to the happy event. Primate Keepers weigh their animals monthly, and Cairrean is typically a very svelte 2.5kg (about 5.5 pounds.) However, in the past few months she had gained a bit of weight and was 2.8kg (a little over 6 pounds) a couple of weeks prior to the birth. But, since her last baby was born in July, we really didn’t expect the next one to arrive as early as April! Our animals always have a way of making things interesting for us.

We are all quite delighted with the appearance of this new little one, as Howie very much needs a playmate these days. He has been trying to wrestle with mom and dad lately and they are not all that enthused about his hijinks, particularly when he hangs off their tails and swings like a trapeze artist. Very soon, the new infant will grow up to the size where big brother can enjoy his company and Howie will have someone equally interested in the type of rough-and-tumble play that young primates typically engage in.

Photo by Dale Martin

For now, however, the new baby is happily ensconced in mama’s lap, where the food supply is plentiful and maternal affection is infinitely available. You can visit our expanding lemur family at the Wortham World of Primates, in the heart of the Zoo.

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Apr
09

Houston Zoo Welcomes Baby Nyala

Posted by in Animal News & Updates,Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Hoofed Stock

On Wednesday April 3, at 3:55 pm, our 4 ½ year old Nyala antelope named Ginger went into labor at the Houston Zoo.  By 4:02, the healthy baby boy had already kicked his way out of his mom and onto the ground, making this one of the fastest deliveries seen in this area.  The baby was very quick to get on his feet and to begin nursing and even to start exploring his new world.

This is the second birth for mom Ginger and for dad Niles.  Their first offspring was born July 14th 2012, a boy named Cashew.  Cashew is also a very healthy boy.

The new baby has yet to be named, but he is now spending afternoons in the newly constructed west hoof run exhibit at the Houston Zoo with the entire Nyala antelope family.  Please stop by the new west hoof run exhibit to see our newest addition to the family.

A word of caution though, Nyala antelope like to “stash” their babies so that predators in the wild would not find them.  So if you don’t see him running around chasing his bigger brother, then you may have to look deep into some of the foliage we have in the exhibit for a glimpse of him.

See our Flickr photo album:

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Mar
13

Notable Noses: Meet the Malay Gharial

Posted by in Animal News & Updates,Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Endangered Species,Reptiles

Visit the Reptile & Amphibian Building to meet our Malay, or False gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii). It is a highly endangered crocodilian that once ranged throughout much of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Borneo, West Java and possibly Vietnam; preferred habitat appears to be tropical swamp forests. Their most distinctive feature is their long, narrow snout which makes them similar in appearance to another crocodilian species, the Gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) native to India.

Malay Gharial

Malay Gharial

As adults, Malay gharials can get quite large with males reaching over 5 meters in length while females are smaller. The females build large mound nests and can lay up to 60 large eggs at a time.

Hunting , habitat destruction, and other human pressures have resulted in the extirpation of Malay gharials in Vietnam and Thailand. Malay gharials now occur in only ten river drainage systems in their former historic range. The wild population is estimated to be no more than 2500 or fewer individuals. Malayan gharials are considered to be Critically Endangered by the IUCN and are listed as an endangered species by the United States and are also listed as Appendix I by CITES. The captive population in North America numbers around 40 animals in 14 institutions. Due to their large size and specific habitat requirements, this species has proven to be difficult to maintain and reproduce; there have only been four successful captive breedings in AZA institutions. Because of the small captive population, the AZA has designated the Malay gharial as an SSP red species.

The Houston Zoo has owned a female Malay gharial since 1974. However, due to its large size and our lack of proper facilities for large crocodilians, it has been out on loan since 1981 and currently resides at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans where it is in a breeding situation. Fortunately, though, last October we were able to acquire a three year old animal which had hatched at the San Antonio Zoo. Since it is a juvenile, we will be able to adequately house this animal for the next several years in the Herpetology building, where it is currently on display.

The Malay gharial is located in the Reptile and Amphibian building in a large display along the back wall, directly behind the White alligator exhibit. While you’re in the building, take some extra time to view all the other interesting and colorful species we have on exhibit!

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Mar
01

New Baby Giraffe Born!

Posted by in Animal News & Updates,Births and Arrivals - New Animals!,Giraffes,Hoofed Stock

Our newest and tallest addition, a male Masai giraffe will make his public debut this Saturday, March 2, with his mother at The African Forest giraffe exhibit.  Mom Neema delivered the healthy male calf at approximately 7:10 a.m. on Monday February 25 at the McGovern Giraffe Exhibit following a 14 month pregnancy.

“The calf weighs 62 kilos, about 139 pounds and stands 74 inches tall,” said Houston Zoo Hoofed Stock Supervisor John Register.  Neema is five and a half years old. The proud father, Mtembei is 6 years old.

The Houston Zoo’s giraffe keepers who cared for Neema through her pregnancy have named the calf Yao in honor of former Houston Rockets player Yao Ming. Working with the conservation organization WildAid, Yao Ming has led the world’s largest conservation awareness program spotlighting illegal elephant and rhino poaching in Africa and the shark fin trade in Asia.  Yao toured the Zoo’s giraffe, rhino and elephant exhibits on February 14 with a group of Pasadena ISD middle school students prior to the NBA All Star game at Toyota Center.

“The calf was standing on his own a little over an hour after he was born and was nursing about 4 hours later,” said Register.  With the new arrival the Houston Zoo’s herd of Masai giraffe has grown to 9, including 6 males and 3 females. This is Neema’s first successful birth.  Her first calf was stillborn.

While Masai giraffes are not threatened or endangered in their native habitat, there are only about 100 of the species living in 24 North American zoos.  Giraffes are the tallest living terrestrial animal.  Males average 17 feet in height and can weigh up to 2,500 pounds.  Female Masai giraffes typically reach a height of 14 feet.  At birth, Masai giraffes weigh between 125 and 150 pounds and stand approximately 6 feet tall.

See more photos here:

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@okapiproject Aww shucks. Thanks so much! We REALLY appreciate it and we'll continue to do our best and work hard to make a difference.