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Two brown bears play in the snow in their enclosure at the zoo in Straubing, southern Germany on January 28, 2011. The brown bear, mainly living in northern Eurasia and North America, can weigh from 300 to 780 kilograms. ARMIN WEIGEL/AFP/Getty Images
Toronto Star photo editor Wanda Goodwin couldn't resist showing you more than one picture of baby Orang-utan named Duran who turns one year old today. Happy Birthday Duran!
Orang-utan baby Duran plays in it's enclosure at the zoo in Dresden, Germany, on Jan. 28, 2011. (AP Photos/dapd, Matthias Rietschel)
, A pair of male Magellanic penguins are right at home in light snowfall at New York City's Bronx Zoo Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011. Normally found in southern Chile, Argentina and the Falkland Islands, these two can be seen at Bronx Zoo's Russell B. Aitken Sea Bird Aviary. (AP Photo/WCS, Julie Larsen Maher
A black rhinoceros calf stands with his mother at the Saint Louis Zoo in this undated handout photograph released to Reuters on January 25, 2011. The calf was born to first-time parents, mother Kati Rain and father Ajabu, at the Saint Louis Zoo on January 14, 2011. Weighing 120-1/2 pounds, the little male is nursing well and being cared for by his mother, according to zoo staff. This is the first black rhino calf to be born at the Saint Louis Zoo in 20 years. In all, eight black rhino calves have been born at the zoo. REUTERS/Saint Louis Zoo/Handout
Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) cubs Viento and Estrella play in their eclosure at the Zoo in Berlin, January 18, 2011. Their mother Sara gave birth to the two youngsters on November 14, 2010 but they made their photo call debut in the German capital today. AFP PHOTO/ODD ANDERSEN
The Chicago Zoological Society (CZS), which manages Brookfield Zoo, announced the birth of 10 African wild dog puppies. The pups, born on November 26, 2010, are currently off exhibit with their mother Kim, 6, father Digger, 4, and Digger’s brother Duke, 4.
Toronto Star picture editor Wanda Goodwin highlights some of the delightful images here.
(AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society, Jim Schulz)
Veterinarians performed physicals that included routine vaccinations and sexing of the 8-week-old pups. Just like vaccinating a family dog, they will receive additional inoculations at 12 weeks and 16 weeks of age.
(AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society, Jim Schulz)
The pups, 6 males and 4 females, will remain off exhibit until spring, at which time they will have access to their outdoor area at Habitat Africa! The Savannah. Until then, a taped video loop of the pups will be viewable for guests in the exhibit or online at www.CZS.org.
(AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society, Jim Schulz)
African wild dogs, also known as painted dogs, have been part of Brookfield Zoo’s animal collection since 1985. In addition to the most recent litter of 10 pups, two other successful litters have been born at the zoo—one in 1998 that had five pups and another in 2000 that had four pups. The breeding of Kim and Digger was based on a recommendation by the coordinator of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ African Wild Dog Species Survival Plan (SSP).
(AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society, Jim Schulz)
Once common in virtually every environment in southern Africa, excluding rain forests and the driest deserts, African wild dogs now inhabit only the savannahs and grasslands, making them one of the continent’s most endangered predators. A century ago, dog packs numbering 100 or more individuals could be seen roaming the Serengeti Plains.
(AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society, Jim Schulz)
Today, pack sizes average about 10 animals and the total population on the Serengeti is probably less than 60 dogs. Research suggests there are between 3,000 to 5,000 free-ranging wild dogs found in isolated populations in central, northeast, and southern Africa, where the largest population is found. Major threats to the species are habitat fragmentation; contact with human activity resulting in road casualties, poisoning, or snaring; the spread of distemper from domestic dogs; and competition for prey by larger carnivores.
(AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society, Jim Schulz)
The Latin name for the species, Lycaon pictus, means “painted wolf,” referring to the dogs’ mottled coat. Puppies are born with a black and white coat that begins to change to a distinctively patterned coat of black, tan, dark brown, and white at about a month old. Like a human fingerprint, no two dogs’ coats are the same. African wild dogs differ from their other canid relatives in that they have four toes on their front feet instead of five. They have long legs and a lanky body, which gives the dogs both speed and endurance. Their large, rounded ears provide them with excellent hearing and help keep the dogs cool in warm climates.
Baby elephant Uli stands close to his mother Sabie in the elephant enclosure at the Zoo in Wuppertal, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. Uli, an African elephant, was born on Sunday night weighing nearly 100 kilos (220 pounds). (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
A hippo blow air under water at the zoo in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Jan. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
In this photo released by the Wildlife Conservation Society, Zoey, a female snow leopard, navigates through the fresh snow at the Central Park Zoo in New York Thursday, Jan. 13, 2011. Well equipped for the cold of winter, snow leopards have padded feet and the thickest fur of any large cat. (AP Photo/WCS, Julie Larsen Maher)
A seagull tries to catch food thrown by people at the Yangon river January 18, 2011. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
