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Newborn Masai Giraffe
The
Ellen Trout Zoo is pleased to announce its newest resident, a six
foot tall newborn Masai Giraffe. The long anticipated birth occurred
on Sunday, 13 January at 6:29 pm.
Signs of early labor were observed in the morning and full labor
began mid-afternoon. The birth process went smoothly for veteran
mother Emi Lane. Zoo staff members were present for the birth and to
observe the calf to be sure that all was well as the calf stood and
then nursed for the first time. In this first day, the calf and
mother will be monitored and given time to bond with each other. The
sex of the calf will be confirmed soon when the staff veterinarian
does a “well baby” check. The Ellen Trout Zoo has been home to
giraffes since 1999 and there have been births by both females.
Due to the cold and inclement weather, the calf will not be on
public display. Knowing that Zoo visitors will want to see the calf,
the Zoo will post photographs on the official Facebook page and will
announce its public debut when the weather is warm enough.
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 Chilean Flamingos
The Ellen Trout Zoo is proud to
announce the hatching of two Chilean Flamingos which many Zoo
visitors are already enjoying seeing. Several other pairs of
flamingos are still incubating their eggs. Flamingo chicks are
covered in a thick white down. They have bright pink beaks and legs
when born which gradually turn to a dark grey to black in color.
In the wild, Chilean Flamingos live in large flocks and have
developed a social structure in which large numbers of flamingos are
needed to stimulate breeding. In 2007, the flock of Chilean
Flamingos at the Ellen Trout Zoo doubled in size when we merged our
existing flock with one from another zoo. This sudden increase in
size stimulated the flock and our breeding attempts with this
species became much more fruitful.
Zoo visitors have noticed the mounds of mud in the enclosure with
birds sitting on them. Both the male and female will build a nest
mound from the surrounding mud. The nests may vary from a few inches
to over a foot in height. Each nesting female will lay a single egg
that is incubated by both parents.
Over the last several weeks, lucky visitors have had glimpses of
eggs as birds stood up or the males and females switched off
incubation duties. In the last week, two eggs have hatched. Both
chicks are being raised by their parents. For the first few days,
they remain in the nest
and
will begin standing and moving around on the top of the nest mound.
After five days or so, chicks will begin to leave the nest for short
periods. As they grow stronger, they will take longer excursions
from the nest with their parents and soon will be eating a little
food on their own while still being fed by the parents for many
weeks to come.
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 The Ellen Trout Zoo is pleased to announce the birth of a
male African
lion born on 28 July . The male cub is the first of his kind
to be born at the zoo since the late 1970’s. This birth is the
result of a recommended breeding by the Association of Zoos and
Aquariums lion Species Survival Plan or SSP. The SSP’s help ensure
the sustainability of captive zoo populations of animals while
maintaining the desired level of genetic variability within the
species. The new, yet to be named, cub is kept in a pet crate and
housed in the cat house with his mother and father so they can still
interact. However, because there has been some difficulty with
nursing the zoo staff has been taking care of feeding him. For the
safety of the cub it will be kept in the crate until it has grown
enough that it can be housed in its own enclosure.. |
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