Gerbils Strut Their Stuff
Move over, dogs, cats and horses. You're not the only pets who get to strut your stuff.
High standards they had to meetBirds (39)
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.”
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.
Courtesy of The Pet Collective
Baby bald eagles are definitely worth the wait.
After obsessively patiently checking The Pet Collective’s live EagleCam every day for more than a month, we're thrilled that Wray and Superman’s three eggs finally hatched in their nest on Catalina Island, Calif. Two of the eaglets came into the world on April 4, and the third was born on April 7.
So far the eagle chicks seem to be in good health, says the Institute for Wildlife Studies, which runs the webcam. And if you can't spot the adorable babies on the live cam right away, don’t worry — the trio is highly visible during feedings, which occur just about every hour.
Uncommon Goods
Celebrate spring by welcoming the birds over for a snack!
The sounds of the spring season will be right in your yard as birds feed on these modern, decorative Charm Birdfeeders. Each of these metal bird feeders is crafted by hand and painted in light blue or green, a perfect contrast to the vibrant colors of beautiful wild birds like Cardinals and Bluejays.
Easy to install, the feeders have a mesh catch that will hold seeds to attract the local winged creatures, and it pops out for easy cleaning. Just like any good host or hostess, make sure you keep an eye on the feeder and refill to keep your feathery guests happy.
Storm Chaser Designs
Spring has sprung — well, sort of. While you wait for the real spring weather to kick in, put a little spring in your style with this lovely bird's nest ring by Storm Cloud Designs on Etsy.
Made of oxidized copper wire and amazonite beads, the ring is a delicate reproduction of a robin's nest, complete with blue eggs. The band is a size 6.5 but can be resized or made adjustable at your request. This is a fun, unexpected alternative to a traditional cocktail ring and is perfect for day or evening.
While this particular bauble is our favorite, Storm Cloud Designs offers several variations on the bird's egg ring, as well as a variety of bird's egg necklaces.
Rasputin the bird — let's stop for a moment and appreciate his name — is obviously a genius. His owner built a Rube Goldberg machine out of Legos, and the bird solves it to get a cashew nut.
Credit: Anthropologie
Your favorite cookie just got a little sweeter.
A delicious after-dinner treat tastes far better when it's housed in a suitably stylish jar, and this Floating Puffin Cookie Jar from Anthropologie definitely meets that mark.
Although the stoneware container is handpainted and looks exquisitely delicate, it's actually dishwasher safe. And, at more than nine inches tall, it's large enough to hold a very decent quantity of delicious, homemade delicacies.
The only real question: Do you bake up some chocolate chip cookies? Peanut butter? Oatmeal? Snickerdoodle? Maybe you should just make a few of each. You can always drop the leftovers off at the Crittr headquarters.
Whistle while you work in this sunny yellow bird dress from ModCloth. Its dainty peeper pattern is the perfect antidote to a dreary winter day, whether you’re planning to spend some time roosting in the nest or flying about town.
The Best Wing Dress is easily jazzed up by a chunky turquoise necklace and heels, or dressed down with a cardigan, tights and simple ballet flats.
ModCloth’s designers have style and comfort in mind with this versatile design, which is fully lined and neatly cinched at the waist with an apron-style bow.
Today, my friends, is a momentous occasion. One for the history books. For, you see, citizens across our great nation will gather to celebrate ... Penguin Awareness Day.
P.S. Gotcha!
P.P.S. Actually, Penguin Awareness Day was yesterday, but we're just getting around to celebrating it today, so just, everyone, be cool.
To help us honor one of our favorite species, we've enlisted the help of Terry Jones and the BBC, circa 2008. It's an old clip, but we're completely mesmerized by these gorgeous flying penguins, and we couldn't resist sharing it with you. Happy Penguin Awareness Day, everyone!
One of the definite highlights of our year has been covering all the new babies who entered the world in 2012. We just can't get enough of their tiny features, gorgeous eyes and adorable spots and stripes.
It was a very tough decision, but somehow we managed to pick our 10 favorite zoo babies of the year, and here they are!
Snow Leopards, Giraffes and Dolphins... Oh, My!
Dublin Zoo
The Dublin Zoo debuted this adorable pair of female red panda cubs in June. And these two cuties aren’t the only set of twins in this red panda brood — their mom and dad also gave birth to twins in August 2011. We hope history repeats itself next year!
Courtesy of Amelia Beamish
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo in Syracuse, N.Y., welcomed a handsome duo of snow leopards over the summer. The animals are perfectly adapted to cold landscapes, so they should do just fine in the snowy tundra of Syracuse!
San Diego Zoo Safari Park
This African elephant calf at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park received the name Qinisa, which in Siswati means "to act with energy" or "speak the truth." Qinisa's mother, Swazi, was rescued in 2003 from the Kingdom of Swaziland, where her small habitat was threatened by long periods of drought.
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo
How cute is this baby giraffe? At only a month old, he already stood six feet tall. And his keepers at the ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in England expect him to grow an inch every day of his first year! He's a reticulated giraffe — the subspecies with the most distinctive pattern: brown, box-like markings (called a reticulated pattern).
Matt Marriott, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
This female white rhinoceros was born in October at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. She's the second calf born to mother Kisiri, and the seventh for father Tambo. Both Kisiri and Tambo were airlifted from Kruger National Park in South Africa in 2001, thanks to a nonprofit that protects the rhino species.
Tibor Jäger
The tapir family at the Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan Safari is growing fast. Mother Passiflora gave birth to her firstborn, Papaya, 15 months ago — and the little animal already has a new baby brother! Pinchas, the first male tapir ever born at the zoo, is named for the late Israeli politician Pinchas Sapir.
Julie Larsen Maher, Wildlife Conservation Society
The hatching of this member of the cuckoo species makes the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Central Park Zoo only the fourth zoo in the U.S. to successfully rear a crested coua chick.
Native to the island of Madagascar, the animals are born with markings on the inside of their mouths that are unique to each individual chick. Experts believe the markings are used by the bird’s parents for identification, or as a target for feeding them. They will begin to fade as the chick matures.
SeaWorld Orlando
Starkey the dolphin is one experienced mama! The dolphin gave birth to her sixth baby on June 30 at SeaWorld Orlando, and the calf has been nursing and bonding well with mom, which is a good sign that the calf is healthy.
Julie Larsen Maher © WCS
This adorable pair of mini Nubian goats arrived at the Tisch Children’s Zoo in August. The species is a cross between the Nigerian dwarf and the full-sized Nubian goat.
Bob Pitchford/Bristol Zoo
A pudu fawn born in May at the Bristol Zoo Gardens in the U.K. explored his paddock with mom and dad for the first time over the summer. The pudu is the world’s smallest deer species. In fact, when this fawn is full-grown, he’ll only be 15 inches tall (not much taller than your average ruler).
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