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A pair of Galapagos tortoises, the two oldest residents at the Philadelphia Zoo, have become first-time parents to at least four healthy hatchlings. The female, named Mommy, and her mate Abrazzo are both estimated to be about 100 years old.
In January, birder and photographer Bill Diller photographed an odd sight: a brilliant orange-red snowy owl, a creature that is normally snow-white with a few flecks of brown. The colorful bird, seen in Huron County, Michigan, has since been dubbed Creamsicle or Rusty by other owl enthusiasts – but no one knows what caused the unusual plumage.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington announced the birth this week of a rare, endangered Malayan tapir calf. The new arrival is only the second tapir born at the zoo in its 120-year history.
This week the Los Angeles Zoo announced the birth of two baby perentie lizards, the first of the species to be bred there.
A pygmy hippo calf entered the world in Scotland a couple weeks ago, far from its natural stomping grounds of the forests and swamps of West Africa. Born at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland's Edinburgh Zoo, the baby girl has been named after the national dish, Haggis.
The world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, is known as a voracious hunter with razor-sharp teeth. Now we know what makes those choppers so sharp: they’re laced with iron.
And the winner is … the hoiho, also known as the yellow-eyed penguin. The plucky (and somewhat smelly) bird is the world’s rarest penguin, according to Forest & Bird, the group behind New Zealand’s Bird of the Year competition.
The northern bald ibis had been extinct in Central Europe for four centuries, but a dedicated conservation and research group has reintroduced a small population into the wild. The only problem: the birds have no clue how or where to migrate when seasons change, so the humans are teaching them.
On the day before her 19th birthday, Ying Ying the panda delivered two cubs, making her the oldest giant panda ever to give birth for the first time. The new arrivals, tiny and pink and as yet unnamed, are also the first pandas born in Hong Kong.
When should we announce the birth of a kangaroo? Technically a baby roo – the Matschie's tree kangaroo – was born in the Bronx Zoo last December, but it would be inaccurate to say the joey had “entered the world,” since she would spend the following several months tucked safely inside mama’s pouch.
The Paignton Zoo in Devon has announced the births of a number of Chilean flamingo chicks, including one tended to by two dads, Curtis and Arthur. The zoo doesn’t know exactly how this happened.
The Cheshire zoo has announced the birth of an onager, or Asiatic wild ass, the world’s rarest equid. The foal, a male named Jasper, was born to Azita following a year-long pregnancy. Mother and son are healthy and thriving.
It may not sound like much to go from “endangered” to “vulnerable,” but for the Iberian lynx, the change augurs very good news for the species. Though still among the rarest cats in the world, the lynx’s rebound from near-extinction just two decades ago is evidence that conservation works, especially when all stakeholders are included in the effort.
Almost all of the giant pandas on loan from China have been returned to their homeland as the loan agreements expire, with the last US facility, Zoo Atlanta, scheduled to return their gentle giants by year’s end. But this week the San Diego Zoo has announced it will soon welcome a new pair of pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao.
A plan to build a huge wind farm in Washington — the largest ever in the state — will likely end up much smaller than the original proposal to erect hundreds of turbines across 24 miles. That’s because Horse Heaven Hills wind farm would pose a danger to an already-endangered raptor, the ferruginous hawk.
If you’ve never witnessed the birth of a rhinoceros, do we have a video for you. This month the Chester Zoo in Cheshire, England announced the birth of the extremely rare Eastern black rhino.
No one had seen the extremely rare Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna since 1961, so it was assumed that the weird, egg-laying mammal was extinct. Earlier this month the beast that looks like a spiny anteater was rediscovered in Indonesia’s Cyclops Mountains, likely the only place on Earth the creature exists.
The panda population in South Korea just went up by two, as beloved mom Ai Bao gives birth to twin girls. Officials at the Everland theme park near Seoul said mother and babes are in good health.
In Los Angeles, a robust population of an invasive species – the red-crowned parrot – is thriving. For once, the aliens are not a threat to native species; in fact, the LA parrots might end up saving their cousins in the wild, where these birds are threatened.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. has announced the arrival of three meerkat pups, born to parents Sadie and Frankie.
