Zoo News Archive
Summer 2009
Birth: Drusillas Park
15
|
A Chilean Flamingo chick has hatched, the first at the park for 5 years. |
Birth: Chester Zoo
14
|
Five baby Annam Leaf Turtles have hatched; great news for this very rare and highly endangered species. The wild population has been decimated by the luxury food and traditional medicine trades. Breeding these, and eight other critically endangered turtle species also held by Chester Zoo, is so important the they are held off-show to minimise disturbance, and therefore cannot be seen by visitors. |
Birth: Edinburgh Zoo
14
|
Two Red River Hog piglets have been born to parents Belle and Hamish, the first at the zoo since they arrived in 2004. The babies have been named Sammi and Becca. |
Death: Belfast Zoo
13
|
The baby Moloch Gibbon, who had been named Haja and born only a month ago, has sadly died. Her mother's milk dried up as a result of a short illness and the keepers took over hand rearing her, which unfortunately turned out to be insufficient; baby Gibbons are extremely dependant on their mother for the first few months. |
Birth: Chester Zoo
11
|
A baby female Giraffe called Bella has been born, to mum Kelly. |
Birth: Twycross Zoo
6
|
A baby male Asian Elephant has been born, the first at the zoo to be born by artificial insemination. He has been named Ganesh Vijay. |
Depart: Belfast Zoo
5
|
Lily the Barbary Lion, who was born at the zoo in 2007, has moved to Hodonin Zoo in the Czech Republic, hopefully to form a new breeding pair with their 4-year-old Simon. Lily's brother Boris also recently moved to Olomouc Zoo, Czech Republic, to join Simon's sister Buzetta. |
Arrival: Colchester Zoo
5
|
A new colony of Leaf-cutter Ants has arrived, to replace the previous colony that was sadly lost. The new colony is a lot smaller than the previous one, but is expected to grow. |
Birth: Marwell Wildlife (Marwell Zoological Park)
August
|
Four baby Przewalski's Horses, 2 males and 2 females have been born over the last few months, bringing the herd size up to 12. The captive breeding and reintroduction programme for this species has been so successful that the IUCN classification has now been downgraded for 'Extinct in the Wild' to 'Critically Endangered'. The reintroduced animals are breeding successfully, the first generation of wild-born foals have now bred themselves. |
Birth: Blair Drummond Safari Park and Adventure Park
August
|
Three baby Meerkats have been born, just a week after their parents arrived at the park. |
Arrival: Howletts: The Aspinall Wild Animal Experience
August
|
A male Anteater called Zet has arrived from a Warsaw zoo. It is hoped that he will be joined by a female soon. |
Death: Newquay Zoo
August
|
The Wildebeest calf born earlier this year has sadly died. The baby appeared to be doing well but was suddenly found collapsed, and sadly died later despite emergency treatment. Test results are still awaited, but from the post mortem the most likely cause appears to be congestive heart failure. |
Birth: Newquay Zoo
August
|
Three more baby Meerkats have been born, making a total of 7 this year. The new babies have been named Aleksander, Sergei and Simples! |
Arrival: Newquay Zoo
August
|
Two new species have arrived in the minibeasts section of the Tropical House: the Asian Foam-nesting Tree Frog and the Curly Tailed Lizard. |
Birth: ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
August
|
A baby Saki Monkey has been born, the second for parents Rio and Kos and thought to be male. |
Notes:
Where possible, the dates given are for the event itself, but some zoos do not make this information available, when the date of announcement is used instead.
Seasons: Winter = Jan - Mar, Spring = Apr - Jun, Summer = Jul - Sept, Autumn = Oct - Dec.