The Absolute Cutest Baby Animals That People Spotted At The Zoo (Their Faces Are So Precious)
One of the most touching sights at the zoo is the birth of a baby animal. According to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, more than 800,000 animals are cared for in accredited zoos and aquariums, so the arrival of these newborns is an event carefully overseen by their caregivers. Animal parents not only welcome their young into the world but also play a vital role in sustaining the cycle of life. Observing photos of baby zoo animals is not just a joyful experience but also offers intriguing insights into their place in the animal kingdom.
Why Baby Flamingos Look So Different From Their Parents
A baby flamingo looks almost nothing like its parents when it's born. At the Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Massachusetts, a Caribbean flamingo can be seen feeding its young. Flamingo chicks are initially gray and white and won't develop their signature pink, orange, or red feathers until they reach three years of age.
Their baby feathers are softer and fluffier than those of adults, helping to keep them warm. In the photo, the mother is feeding her chick by turning her beak upside down, which is the only way she can feed it. The name "flamingo" comes from the Spanish word "flamenco," meaning fire.
Wolf Puppies Have Many Threats To Their Livelihood
Around eight weeks after wolf puppies are born at the Wild Life Park in Germany, they undergo a medical checkup, are microchipped, and vaccinated to protect against infectious diseases. At birth, wolf puppies are completely blind, deaf, and have a very limited sense of smell.
These puppies grow quickly, gaining between 2.6 and 3.3 pounds each week during the first 14 weeks of their lives. Unfortunately, up to 60 percent of them don't reach maturity due to factors such as disease, food scarcity, and predators like golden eagles and bears.
The Vital Reason Penguins Turn Black And White
One of the cutest moments captured at the Sumida Aquarium in Tokyo features this unnamed baby penguin. At birth, penguins are covered in soft gray, white, or brown feathers, and over time, they develop their signature black and white plumage.
There are about 18 species of penguins, most of which inhabit colder regions. Their black-and-white coloration serves as camouflage, helping them evade predators. While penguins can't fly, they are excellent swimmers, spending much of their lives in the water. These flightless birds can reach speeds of 15 miles per hour while swimming and are known to leap out of the water as they go.
The Importance Of Being A Female Lemur
At Bristol Zoo Gardens in the United Kingdom, Ethel the ring-tailed lemur is seen lovingly embracing her newborn baby. For several years, she and her twin sister Mavis have given birth to their babies just days apart. This is a common behavior among female lemurs, as they often time their pregnancies to occur around the same period.
Outside of zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, Madagascar is the sole home to all lemurs. In lemur groups, females typically take on the leadership role, often asserting their dominance by taking food from males, claiming their resting spots, and showing physical aggression when necessary.
Hippos Spend Most Of Their Lives Underwater
When Monifa, the baby hippopotamus, was born at the Taronga Zoo in Australia, she faced some challenges. She had difficulty standing and was unable to nurse from her mother, Petre. However, her name, which means "I am lucky" in Nigerian, truly reflects her incredible survival story.
Hippos spend up to 16 hours a day submerged in water and possess the natural ability to close their nose and ears to keep water out. They also have specialized membranes that protect their eyes. Known for their loud snorts, grumbles, and wheezes, hippos can produce sounds reaching up to 115 decibels.
Mother Pandas Raise Their Cubs In A Unique Way
Meet Meng Yuan, a baby panda who was one of the twin cubs born to his mom, Meng Meng, at a zoo in Berlin, Germany. Their enclosure, valued at nearly $13 million, offers these rare pandas a comfortable environment. In the wild, pandas typically raise only one cub at a time, so zookeepers at the zoo take turns caring for each cub to ensure their well-being.
When Meng Yuan and his twin were born, they spent the first few weeks of their lives in an incubator. Sadly, fewer than 2,000 pandas remain in the wild, making encounters with them at the zoo a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Why Baby Elephants Are Similar To Human Babies
This adorable baby Asian elephant is named Kandula, and he's seen here playing in the sand at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. on his first birthday. Baby elephants, known as calves, weigh around 250 pounds at birth and stand about three feet tall.
When calves are born, they can barely see but rely on touch, sound, and scent to recognize their mothers. At first, they’re not sure how to use their trunks, so they often swing them around or suck on them, much like how a baby might suck their thumb. Kandula's playful antics are a reminder of the joy these magnificent creatures bring to the world.
Giraffes Can Already Do This An Hour After They're Born
Kim, the baby giraffe, was born in a zoo in Denmark to her mother, Kimba Kimba. She's part of a conservation program aimed at boosting the giraffe population while keeping them in their natural habitats. Giraffes give birth while standing, and when calves are born, they fall to the ground from a height of up to five feet.
At birth, baby giraffes are already impressive, measuring around six feet tall and weighing between 100 and 150 pounds. They’re incredibly agile from the moment they’re born, and within just an hour, they’re able to stand up and walk on their own, ready to begin exploring their world.
Gorillas And Humans Are Very Similar
Afia, a baby gorilla, is seen enjoying a piggyback ride from her zookeeper, Joanne Rudd, on Gorilla Island at the Bristol Zoo in England. Afia is taken out daily to interact with the other gorillas to help build her confidence and familiarize her with her future home.
Her diet consists of sweet potatoes, leafy lettuce, and pellets as she continues to grow and develop. Afia eagerly awaits being reunited with her gorilla family soon. As the closest living relatives to humans, gorillas share many similarities with us, including their birth and afterbirth processes, making their care and development incredibly fascinating to observe.
A Zebra Needs To Learn To Run Immediately After They're Born
This photo captures first-time mother Akuna moments after giving birth to her unnamed baby at the West Midlands Safari Park in Bewdley, England. Although zebras are born with their distinctive stripes, they appear brown and white at birth. For the first two days of life, the mother keeps her foal very close, preventing social interactions until the foal can recognize her by sight, smell, and sound.
Within 15 minutes of birth, the foal is able to stand, and within an hour, it can walk. Given zebras' vulnerability to predators, it's crucial that they learn to run quickly after birth to ensure their survival in the wild.
Koalas Can Only Eat One Food
Duisburg Zoo in Germany keeps their animals in-check by measuring their growth progress, which can be seen here with a nameless female baby koala. Similar to bears, koala mothers will only raise one baby at a time. Baby koalas are called joeys and are born blind.
Koalas are marsupials and will live inside their mother's pouch until they develop eyes, legs, and fur. When the joeys are done growing in the pouch, they will attach themselves to their mother's back to get around the land. These marsupials can only eat eucalyptus leaves and will sleep up to 20 hours a day.
Porcupines Can't Actually Shoot Their Quills
It's difficult not to notice the striking physical features of this baby porcupine at the Exotic Animal and Wildlife Rescue Center in Marshall, North Carolina. Porcupines are the third-largest rodents in the world behind the beaver and capybara. They can't actually shoot their quills out of their body.
Instead, when they feel threatened they will tense up and attack predators by swatting their tail to get some of their 30,000 quills into the predator's skin. Most porcupines are nocturnal and like to feast on berries, stems, twigs, grass, and tree bark.
Foxes Prefer Not To Live In Packs
Mother foxes are called vixens and will do anything to protect their pups. A typical litter of baby foxes ranges from one to 11 and they are born blind. Foxes are not pack animals and prefer to only remain as a small family when the parents are raising the litter for about seven months.
They are mostly nocturnal and their vertical pupils help them see in dim light. The red fox (pictured) is the most common species and they are said to have a "magnetic sense," which helps them hunt. One of the oldest records of a fox dates back to a 16,500-year-old cemetery with the remains of a man and his pet fox.
Lions Are At A Risk Of Becoming Extinct
This lion cub is having the time of his life at the Monarto Zoo in Adelaide, Australia. When a lioness is ready to give birth she temporarily leaves her pride and will hideout with the cubs for around one to two months after they are born.
Male lions usually play no role in the cubs' upbringing, so the lioness must teach them to hunt. The life expectancy of a lion is between 10 and 14-years-old and they are currently at risk of extinction. Female lions are the main hunters and the males are usually found guarding the pride's territory and the cubs.
The Unfortunate Truth For Tiger Cubs
After this white tiger and his brother were born at the Serengeti Park in Hodenhagen, Germany, their parents rejected them. Zookeepers knew they still needed to be cared for, so they stepped up to make sure the cubs were given plenty of nurturing attention.
The cubs were most likely rejected because tigers are solitary creatures who spend most of their time alone looking for food. Tiger cubs are born helpless and at least half of them don't live past the age of two. In the wild, a mother tigers has to leave the cubs while she hunts and usually won't find enough food to feed the litter.
Polar Bears Can Grow To Be Almost One Thousand Pounds
Polar bears thrive when they get the chance to run around outside. This is a photo of a female polar bear cub named Nanook running around at the zoo where she was born in Germany with her mother Lara. In the wild, polar bear cubs are usually born in the comfort of their mother's snow den.
They are born weighing only 16 to 24 ounces and are about a foot tall, but will grow up to be around nine-feet tall and between 330 and 990 pounds. Polar bear cubs spend the first few months of their lives in the den but will get the instinct to venture out into the wilderness shortly after.
Kangaroos Can Travel At 40 Miles Per Hour
These kangaroo joeys named Dot and Matilda got to enjoy a special treat at the Wild Life Sydney Zoo in Australia. When joeys are born they aren't completely developed, so they will crawl into their mother's pouch. These marsupials won't leave until they are between seven and 10 months old.
Kangaroos are some of the most diverse species in the world with 47 varieties including the rock wallaby and red kangaroo. They are also one of the fastest animals who can hop on their powerful hind legs at 40 miles per hour going 10-feet high.
Find Out Just How Fast Cheetahs Can Go
A baby cheetah can be seen grasped in the arms of its beloved zookeeper at the All-Weather Zoo in Muenster, Germany. Its mother Namoja gave birth to a litter of seven and was resting. Cheetah cubs are born blind and are covered in a thick fur called mantle, which protects them from predators.
In the wild cheetahs have a 90 percent mortality rate and about three-quarters of them won't make it past three months. The cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world with speeds up to 70 miles per hour and they can accelerate to this speed in only three seconds.
Meerkats Can Recognize Voices
Zookeeper Suzi Hyde at the London Zoo has been hand-rearing meerkats Lia and Roo ever since their mother abandoned them. Baby meerkats are called pups and are born underground where they are safe from predators. When they are born, pups are blind, deaf, and practically hairless.
In a study from 2011, scientists found that meerkats have the ability to recognize the voices of their clan. Although meerkats are social and affectionate animals, they can get very territorial and fight with other clans if they pose a threat. One of their favorite foods is scorpions and they are one of the few animals who are immune to their poison.
Orangutans Have An Arm Span Of Over Six-Feet Long
This is one of the many orangutans in Sumatra, Indonesia who were left orphaned to be illegally sold as pets. Luckily, she was rescued and taken to the SCOP Care Center where she loves to have fun on the playground. The females give birth about once every eight years and the infants will stay with their mother for about six to seven years.
Orangutans have some of the largest arm spans and can stretch them over six and a half feet. Humans share about 97 percent of their DNA with these creatures, which is why the Malay translation of their name is "human of the forest."
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