The Zoo

The Philadelphia Zoo joins Kids Corner monthly to explore the fascinating world found behind the gates of America's First Zoo!

Baby Animals

Last time, we talked about courtship in the animal world and now that spring is almost here, you know what that means - baby animals! Tiny bundles of joy are everyone's favorite thing to see. Baby animals born this time of year at the Zoo can be everything from a monkey that weighs less than a pound to a lengthy lizard that is up to nine inches long at birth. Some babies hatch from eggs, like all birds and some reptiles. Other babies are born live, as with most mammals. On Kids Corner, we'll discuss the many baby animals that are born at the Zoo. We'll even learn some fun and unique names of animal babies...

Baby Animals Just Born

Monkeys, monkeys and more monkeys! On January 12 and 16 and February 12 the Philadelphia Zoo had squirrel monkey babies born. Squirrel monkeys are a small South American primate. Though they might not seem it, baby squirrel monkeys are huge when they are born. Adult squirrel monkeys weigh between one and three pounds. Their babies are usually weigh about a quarter of their parents' body weight - that's equivalent to a human having a 20 pound baby! Each of the new mothers help each other by carrying their babies on their backs. You can visit PECO Primate Reserve to see all three of these little cuties hanging on as their mom jumps from limb to limb in their exhibit!

On February 4, the Zoo had a white-faced saki born. This rare and very unusual looking primate is also found in South America. Because white-faced sakis are an endangered species, this new baby lives in our Dodge Rare Animal Conservation Center with mom Mona, dad Bugsy and big brother Clyde. White-faced saki babies grow fairly quickly and become quite independent at the age of four months.

The Philadelphia Zoo also have a number of cat babies (otherwise known as cubs or kittens) that will be making their debut May 25 in our new exhibit Bank of America Big Cat Falls. For now, you can see three adorable new puma kittens, two females, Sage and Cinnabar, and a male, Dakota. Puma kittens are born spotted and have bluish eyes. They grow up very fast and as they grow, lose their spots. Our kittens are very playful and active youngsters - they often climb to the very top of their exhibit and enjoy running after anything that moves! They'll be joined in Bank of America Big Cat Falls by a handsome melanistic (or black) jaguar cub and three male snow leopard cubs.

Come see these animal babies before they grow up and be sure to check out your local zoo and see what the brand new arrivals are coming in 2006.

Who May Be Expecting

We are expecting vampire bat babies any day! Vampire bats give birth to a single baby, called a pup. Their babies use tiny thumbs in the middle of the wing to cling on their mom's furry belly. Vampire Bats are nocturnal animals, so you have to look very closely in their exhibit at the Zoo to see the pup's clinging to mom.

Around the corner from the vampire bats in our Small Mammal House is another unusual mammal that may give birth any day. This mammal, however, doesn't give birth to live young - they actually lay eggs. This new parent to be is called an echidna. The echidna is a relative of the platypus (another egg-laying mammal). The female at the Philadelphia Zoo has been spending a great deal of time in her nest. She has successfully given birth last March and also in March 2003. Baby echidnas are called "puggles". The puggle will stay in its mother's pouch for about 55 days. After that, mom echidna places the puggle into a nest or hollow cave and feeds it every three to six days. After about eight months, the puggle weighs two to four pounds and it becomes fully independent. Stay tuned for a possible puggle birth at the Philadelphia Zoo, but remember this baby won't be in view until about October!

Baby Animal Names

Baby animals have very interesting names! You may have heard some of the more familiar names such as a chick (baby bird) or a joey (baby kangaroo) or even a colt (baby horse or zebra).

But did you know... ?

A baby eagle is an eaglet?
A baby ferret is a kit?
A baby fish is a fry?
A baby frog is a tadpole?
A baby hippopotamus is a calf?
A baby peafowl is a peachick?
A baby spider is a spiderling?
A baby turkey is a poult?
A baby wasp is a larva?

For many more names of baby animals, visit http://www.enchantedlearning.com/
subjects/animals/Animalbabies.shtml