While visitors stayed at home sheltering, the San Antonio Zoo had a mini baby boom.
Guess which animal is the one in the feature photo?
It’s a baby Tamandua!
Some of the other new additions include baby twin lemurs, slithering snakes, a team of sea horses, and a multitude of birds.
Native to South America, the baby Tamandua is the fourth born at the zoo to parents Tammie and Lucho. Both mom and baby are bonding in an off habitat maternity den. The baby often latches to mom as she moved throughout the den, and has begun showing interest in insects. Southern Tamanduas, also known as Lesser Anteaters, are insectivores and use their long sticky tongues to grab various bugs.
San Antonio Zoo also welcomed a set of black-and-white ruffed lemur twins to first-time mom, Zaza. The twins are doing great and bonding with mom in an off habitat maternity den.
The black-and-white ruffed lemur is a critically endangered species of ruffed lemur, one of two which are endemic to the island of Madagascar. They are primarily frugivorous, but will also eat a variety of seeds, leaves, and nectar. Females commonly give birth to two to four young at a time. It has been more than 30 years since the zoo has had a birth of a black-and-white ruffed lemur.
Not as cuddly as the newborn mammals, but equally exciting and important was the hatching of two Yunnan Mountain rat snakes.
A terrestrial species, it has a preference for cool climates that restricts its habitat to hills and mountain plateaus of central China. In addition to replicating its preferred climate, this species is the first hatch for the zoo’s herpetology team.
Another first was the recent hatching of the Philippine tree skink. Also known as the emerald tree skink, it is a non-threatened species that are mostly insectivorous, feeding on insects and as well as fruit. The herpetology team also welcomed several Henkel’s leaf-tailed geckos. These are vulnerable due to habitat loss and deforestation in their endemic home of Madagascar. San Antonio Zoo participates in the Henkel’s Leaf-tailed Geckos Species Survival Plan (SSP), a shared conservation effort by the zoos throughout the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The zoo’s aviculture department also welcomed some feathered friends, one being a first for the zoo. The Hwamei chick arrived just in time for Mother’s Day and is a first for the zoo. The Hwamei is a passerine bird of eastern Asia that lays a distinctive egg, which is turquoise blue. The team also welcomed a West African crowned crane chick. This species will contribute to the SSP. San Antonio Zoo has a successful track record in hatching this species.
