LA Zoo blanketed with spring and summer births

LOS ANGELES: This summer the Los Angeles Zoo is full of proud parents! The flurry of births here at the L.A. Zoo kicked off on April 5 with the birth of a male Masai giraffe. He is currently in the giraffe habitat with his parents, Neema and Artimus.

On May 5, the first Tadjik markhor twins, a brother and sister, were born.  Within a month, these twins were joined by a second set of markhors, also a male and female, born on May 29.  Visitors can see these boisterous markhors, an endangered species of wild goat native to Asia, alongside their parents in the markhor exhibit.
 
May 19 brought the birth of a male central Chinese goral, a type of endangered goat native to the steep slopes of the east-central China mountains.  In the wild, gorals do not have to compete with fellow ungulates (hooved mammals), because gorals can navigate and survive in areas that are unsuitable for most other ungulates.  Their natural predators include the red dog, leopard, lynx and tiger.  Their status would be more secure if they were protected from humans who hunt them for sport and food.  The Zoo’s youngster is on exhibit with its parents.
 
Also born on May 19 were two female red river hogs.  Red river hogs, one of the smallest species of pigs, hail from sub-Saharan Africa.  The red river hog is often described as the prettiest of the “wild swine,” with red hair, a black and white face mask and a white mane reaching from neck to tail.  Visit these rambunctious piglets at the Zoo’s nursery.
 
May 25 saw the hatching of the first greater flamingo chick this year.  Less than a month later, on June 16, this chick was joined by a second!  The greater flamingo is the largest of the six species of flamingo.  This species is found in freshwater and saline habitats throughout parts of southern Europe, Africa and southern Asia.  Check out the flamingo chicks in the Zoo’s aviary.
 
June 2009 births saw the birth of a male gerenuk on June 4.  Gerenuk, a medium sized gazelle whose name means “giraffe-necked” in Somali, are native to East Africa.  Stop by the nursery to catch a glimpse of this fledgling!
 
Two babirusa, one male and one female, were born on June 15.  Babirusa, a subspecies of the pig family, lives on the Sulawesi, Togian and Baru Islands of Indonesia.  The natives say that the tusks are like the antlers of a deer, hence the name babirusa, which means “hog-deer” in Malay.
 
When the L.A. Zoo imported a pair of babirusas from Europe in 1984, they were the first babirusa admitted to this country in more than 40 years!
 
Rounding out the June births was the birth of a female Japanese serow on June 20.  Japanese serows, a species of goat, roam the mountain forests of Japan.  In 1955, serows were declared a “Special Natural Monument,” which gives them complete protection against hunting and capture.

-India Post News Service