Sloth Bears Explore Habitat
The Woodland Park Zoo's twin cubs love jumping, leaping and climbing in their exhibit
Meet the adventurous duoBaby Animals (123)
National Aviary
Well, hello there, bright eyes!
A Eurasian eagle owl hatched at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pa., on March 13 — the first of her kind to hatch in an Association of Zoos and Aquariums facility in five years.
The baby bird is thriving, doubling in size in just five days. And she’s already losing some of her downy feathers to look more like an adult.
The hand-reared owlet’s parents are education birds who are trained to fly free during shows and perch on a glove, and this little one will follow in their footsteps.
“She’s been doing well in her first public interactions,” says Cathy Schlott, manager of animal training at the National Aviary. “Her visitors love seeing her up close, and she’s well on her way to being a great education bird.”
Easy there, little guy. Milk is for drinking, not for bathing!
Berlin Zoo
They may be small now, but within a year, these three emu chicks will stand at a whopping 5 to 6 feet tall!
Hatched at the Berlin Zoo, the 3-month-old babies are ready to earn their stripes — with Dad at their side. Interestingly, an emu mom lays and incubates the eggs, but her job with the little ones stops there. All of the other duties of raising the chicks go to dad, reports Zooborns.
Native to Australia, the emu is the second-largest bird in the world, behind the ostrich.
We adore the striped look they’re sporting now, but the chicks will turn almost entirely black before their feathers eventually change to a mix of tan, brown and black.
Berlin Zoo
Two of the chicks go for a walk with Dad.
Woodland Park Zoo
There’s nothing sloth-y about the twin sloth bear cubs who were born at the Woodland Park Zoo in December.
“The curious explorers climb, jump and attempt daredevil leaps,” says Pat Owen, a collection manager at the zoo.
With a name like sloth bear, we were expecting him to say something like, “The quiet creatures sleep, sleep and… sleep."
Boy, were we wrong.
When the adorable duo explored their exhibit for the first time, their natural climbing instincts took over and they started scaling the logs in their habitat.
In all fairness, they did have a bit of a lazy streak. They spent the first two months of their lives clinging to their mom’s back. But, hey, they’re babies. Who can blame them?
Julie Larsen Maher © WCS
Sorry, all other species names. Thanks for playing, but you've been beat. These are babydoll lambs.
The Prospect Park Zoo, part of the Wildlife Conservation Society system in New York, recently welcomed a brother and sister pair to its babydoll lamb family. Arthur and Brooklyn were born to mother Ginger last month, and are growing a little every day.
Arthur, who weighed eight pounds at birth, will grow to be about 175 pounds. Brooklyn was only six pounds when she was born, but her expected adult size is 120 pounds.
WCS says the babydoll lamb, also called the miniature Southdown, is the oldest known purebred sheep in the world.
A 5-month-old baby giraffe named Dave stretches his long legs as he makes his outside debut at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago in April.
We love how it looks like he just breaks out to run around his enclosure for fun.
The energetic calf was born at the zoo in November, and bounded around with other members of the herd, including his mom, 6-year-old Arnieta, and four other giraffes.
Marianne Hale, San Francisco Zoo
The San Francisco Zoo’s baby Sumatran tiger is a girl — and she’s a beauty.
During a five-minute 5-week exam, the veterinary staff at the zoo was able to determine that the cub is in excellent health, is up to 8 pounds thanks to her mom’s care... and a lack of “competition at the ‘milk bar,’” officials say.
The cub was born to Leanne on Feb. 10, and her keepers say mom is both protective and encouraging when her little one ventures outside of their nest box.
“Since the exam, we’ve been able to conduct brief socialization sessions with the cub to get her used to her keepers,” says Corinne MacDonald, curator of carnivores and primates at the zoo. “As we learned with Leanne’s last litter, she is an extremely attentive mother and allows us in the same space as the cub as long as she is able to watch from an adjoining enclosure.”
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SeaWorld San Diego
We can't resist those puppy dog... er, seal pup eyes!
Estimated to be only a few days old, this Pacific harbor seal pup was rescued by SeaWorld San Diego from a local beach in early March.
The baby seal, who appeared to be separated from its mother, is off exhibit and being bottle-fed by the facility’s animal rescue team.
The pup, one of 100 marine mammals rescued by SeaWorld San Diego so far this year, is expected to make a full recovery and be returned to the wild.
A 3-pound, striped bundle of joy who arrived at the Sacramento Zoo two weeks ago now has a name: Castro Jr., in honor of his father.
The male Sumatran tiger cub, who just opened his eyes, is nicknamed C.J. His dad was recently diagnosed with cancer and is receiving chemotherapy. Little C.J. is the youngest of five offspring born to Castro and his mate, Bahagia.
All of C.J.’s older siblings are now living at other zoos, where they’ve been paired with possible mates.
“The birth of any Sumatran Tiger is a great contribution to this critically endangered species,” said Mary Healy, the zoo’s director, according to the Sacramento Zoo Blog.
The baby tiger and his mom will stay in a den, away from public viewing, until May or June.
Melbourne Zoo
The Melbourne Zoo in Australia has a bouncing baby boy with a name that fits his personality perfectly. In online voting, Sanook, which is Thai for "fun-loving" and "cheerful," was the runaway favorite.
“He is cheeky, confident and loves a bit of fun so I think Victorians have chosen his name well,” says Ryan Smith, minister for environment and climate change in Victoria, Australia.
The calf’s keepers say he loves running and being in the water.
The Asian elephant weighed a hefty 289 pounds when he was born in January, and he’s growing quickly. His mom is from Thailand, and he has two older siblings at the zoo.
