World first

ORIGINAL: Durrell

Incredible, never-seen-before footage of the "miracle birth" of a Sumatran orangutan has been caught on video by Durrell Staff. See an exclusive video below and find out more information on this amazing story.

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The back story... 

“ Dana and her new baby girl are now thriving at Durrell Wildlife Park! ”

Our amazing team of Keepers, Vets and even some of Jersey General Hospital’s Obstetric staff, are proud to be part of the safe arrival of Dana's new baby girl.

This is especially remarkable because Dana's previous pregnancy in 2009 suffered terrible complications that endangered her health sadly resulting in in a stillborn infant.

Dana was left with blocked fallopian tubes, leaving her infertile. However, expert intervention by Jersey General Hospital’s Head Obstetrician, Neil MacLachlan, allowed Dana and 28 year-old dominant male ‘Dagu’ to conceive again against all the odds, in late 2012.

Neil visited Dana throughout her pregnancy working with our team who, using trained behaviour techniques, carried out ultrasound scanning of Dana’s bump. This gave us the best possible chance of a healthy mother and baby.

Our team also worked hard at capturing the events leading up to and during the birth, that led to a BBC documentary to highlight our work with Critically Endangered animals globally and how we continue to save species from extinction.

Earlier this year 30 year-old female ‘Anette’s’ son ‘Jantho’ was born. Jantho is named after the release site for rehabilitated orangutans in Sumatra, where individuals rescued from deforested areas or from the pet trade are reintroduced to relative safety.

The Sumatran orangutan population, classified as Critically Endangered (IUCN Red list of threatened species), is thought to number a mere 6,600 individuals, and reportedly loses 10 to 15% of forest habitat to logging and palm oil plantations every year. Durrell maintain close ties, and share funds collected at the orangutan exhibit with the highly active Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Project (SOCP) which is headed by former Durrell keeper Dr. Ian Singleton.

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Watch the BBC documentary 'Refugees of the Lost Rainforest' on iPlayer


The orangutan population in Sumatra is spiraling towards the unthinkable - the loss of this species forever.

With your kind help, we can make sure that Dana’s baby and her cousins in the wild have a future... please consider donating any amount you can spare, and in turn we will spare no effort in keeping our friends from the forest from disappearing forever.

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Ueno zoo releases photos of newborn giant panda cub

ORIGINAL: AsahiAJW

July 08, 2012

Female giant panda Shin Shin breastfeeds her newborn baby on July 6 at Ueno Zoological Gardens. (Provided by Ueno Zoological Gardens and Tokyo Zoological Park Society)

Ueno Zoological Gardens in Tokyo released photographs of its newborn giant panda on July 6, showing its mother breastfeeding the tiny cub.

Born to 7-year-old Shin Shin on July 5, the panda--a male--is the first born at the zoo in Taito Ward as a result of natural breeding.

“Even though she is a new mother, Shin Shin takes very good care of her cub,” said Yutaka Fukuda, deputy director of the zoo. “I'm sure she will be a good mother.”

A tiny newborn panda cub clings to its mother on July 6. (Provided by Ueno Zoological Gardens and Tokyo Zoological Park Society)

Zoo officials estimate the baby panda is about 15 centimeters long and weighs 150 grams. Its body is lightly covered with white fur, they said. Its sex was confirmed on July 7.

Zoo officials said it will take about three weeks until the familiar black and white giant panda pattern begins to emerge on the cub's fur.

Shin Shin has been taking care of the cub since she gave birth to it, without eating or drinking water. She has been observed breastfeeding her baby about every 15 minutes in response to the cub's cries, the officials said.

The yet-to-be-named baby is the fourth giant panda born at the zoo, and the first in 24 years.

THE ASAHI SHIMBUN

A Birth in Isabukuru's Group

ORIGINAL: Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

Friday, July 06, 2012

Isaro and her newborn. Photo by Keiko Mori

This week in the field was particularly dense with events involving the gorillas monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s Karisoke Research Center. One of those events was the happy news reported by the trackers for Isabukuru’s group on Tuesday, July 3 when they saw female Isaro with a newborn.

The birth was a surprise, as Isaro’s previous infant, Keza, is just 3.2 years old, which is a pretty short inter-birth interval, considering that the average is 3.5 years. Isaro is doing very well, carefully carrying her new infant, who seems to be healthy and of good appetite.

Isaro is a young female, 13 years old. She lost her first infant in 2008 on the day it was born. One year later, she give birth to Keza, a sweet infant female. Since the birth of her new sibling, Keza has spent all her time close to mother Isaro and the infant, suspending, for the moment, all her play activities with other youngsters.

Isabukuru’s group has increased to 12 gorillas. The dominant silverback can be very proud of his growing group, which now includes four infants and six females. Isabukuru has demonstrated a strong paternal instinct with all his offspring, spending considerably more time playing with them than has ever been observed in the silverbacks in other groups.

Veronica

Rare White Rhino Born At Tel Aviv Zoological Center (GRAPHIC VIDEO)

ORIGINAL:  Huffington Post

Tanda, a white rhino at the Tel Aviv Zoological Center has given birth to a male calf named Terkel, the animal blog Zooborns reports .

According to the blog, the baby was named in honor of zoo curator Dr. Amelia Terkel, who is retiring after 30 years in the industry. The 20-year-old mother rhino also has another son, named Tibor.

"This is an extremely rare event in captivity, and it's touching," Netta Guetta, who heads up the zoo's African animals department, told the AFP . "Immediately after giving birth, the mother tenderly licked her calf and began to breast-feed."

The birth is particularly noteworthy, as the white rhino is classified as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List due to the constant threat of poaching.