Wildlife

After three months secluded in their nest-box, two rare Red Panda cubs have finally emerged from the den, much to the delight of Cotswold Wildlife Park keepers and visitors alike. These striking twins are the first Red Pandas to be born at the Park in ten years. The as yet unnamed cubs were born to first-time parents, Doodoo and Scarlet, on 24 June 2012. The births came as quite a surprise to keepers, unaware that Scarlet was even pregnant! Red Pandas only have a small window of opportunity for breeding every couple of years when the female is receptive. Being incredibly shy and secretive animals, keepers did not observe any mating between the adult Pandas and Scarlet’s thick fur hid any tale-tale signs that she was about to give birth — via ZooBorns

The Alma Park Zoo‘s baby Tasmanian Devils (Imps) are starting to make themselves known as they begin to venture out of the den with their mum, Lilith. All three are girls and what is even more remarkable is the fact they are all completely black. Devils usually have a white band across their chest or white across their rump, but not these girls. To have one completely black would be rare, to have three is quite exceptional — via ZooBorns

On Friday, 19 October the Twycross Zoo welcomed a female Brazilian Tapir calf to Muffin (mum) and Pele (dad). The healthy calf has been suckling well and exhibiting bursts of exuberance, romping around her enclosure and then retreating to the indoor area for a snooze — via ZooBorns

High winds in Australia swept these two Tawny Frogmouth chicks from their nest in Dundas. Lucky for them, they landed in someone’s backyard who notified Taronga Zoo and local wildlife centre staff — via ZooBorns

On 23 October Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed a baby White Rhinoceros. The female Rhino, who has yet to be named, was born at the 26-acre White Rhino habitat on Busch Gardens’ Serengeti Plain. This is the second calf born to mother Kisiri and the seventh for father Tambo. She weighed an estimated 140 pounds at the time of the birth, and will gain approximately four pounds each day until she reaches an adult weight of approximately 3,500 to 4,000 pounds — via ZooBorns

On 6 June Oklahoma City Zoo staffers quietly witnessed the eleventh Red Panda birth in the zoo’s history — a female. This is the first baby for Mum Jaya, who came to the zoo at the end of 2011, but the ninth cub for Yoda, the father. The newborn was named KayDee in honour of Oklahoma City Thunder player Kevin Durant — known to fans as KD — whose team won it’s first Western Conference championship on that very same night — via ZooBorns

A newborn Malayan Tapir calf is alive and doing well thanks to the heroic efforts of two Denver Zoo staff members. On 3 September, Denver Zoo’s female Tapir, Rinny, gave birth inside the Rhino/Tapir building of Toyota Elephant Passage. Staff watched as Rinny unsuccessfully attempted to free the infant from inside its amniotic sac. Assistant Curator of Toyota Elephant Passage Rebecca McCloskey safely separated mother and calf then freed the newborn from the sac for inspection. Together with staff veterinarian Gwen Jankowski, they began providing mouth to snout rescue breaths and manually stimulated the baby for regular breathing and in order to expel liquid from his lungs. After a few minutes of rescue efforts, the infant successfully began to breathe on his own. The scene was captured on video tape inside the zoo’s Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit — via ZooBorns

A Mouse Deer has given birth to an itty-bitty baby at the Zurich Zoo. Less than 55cm long as adults, Mouse Deer are one of the smallest hoofed animal species. They are not really deer at all, but belong to their own unique family of hoofed mammals — via ZooBorns

The big news at The Czech Republic’s Zoo Brno is the arrival of a new born Brazilian Tapir. The calf’s parents are named Cusco and Neny — via ZooBorns

Chester Zoo has welcomed a very important baby – a Black Rhino calf. She may not have a name yet but she does have an important role to play as the two-week-old is another step towards sustaining a Black Rhino population which, in the wild, has been ravaged by poachers — via ZooBorns

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has welcomed the birth of three baby Capybaras. The new babies bring the Zoo’s group of Capybaras up to six including mum Shoya, dad Budha, and another adult female, Bonita. They can all be seen on exhibit together on the second floor of The RainForest — via ZooBorns