EAZA News 58-9 - European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

eaza news 58
2007
12
births and hatchings
Hamburg germany source
website hamburg zoo and stephan hering-hagenbeck
Tierpark Hagenbeck (Hamburg) celebrates its 100th anniversary this year,
amongst others with the birth of a female Asian elephant (Elephas
maximus). The 17-year-old female ‘Lai Singh’, the lowest in hierarchy of
ten (2.8) elephants, gave birth to a healthy offspring on 11 April 2007.
Unfortunately, her first delivery (four years ago) was a stillbirth, which
took place within the herd. This second young, a female, is being reared
by its mother within the group and is drinking well.
Tierpark Hagenbeck had 13 elephant births (5.8) in the past 15 years. The
last four births took place within the herd. Special about this last birth is
that this was the first time in the zoo’s history that a calf was born
amongst an elephant herd of seven other animals. Previous birth herds
did not include more than five animals (females with offspring), due to
space problems. In November 2006 however, a new indoor enclosure of
approximately 1000 m2 (excluding the visitors areas) was finished.
Tierpark Hagenbeck will also host the fifth Elephant Management School.
For more information, please refer to: www.elephant-management.com
photo hamburg zoo
Berlin germany source
website berlin zoo
Twin male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) were born on 5 December
2006 at the Berlin Zoo. Father of the cubs, 13-year-old male ‘Lars’, was
born on 12 December 1993 in the Münich Zoo. The twenty-year-old
mother ‘Tosca’, who was received from a German circus in 1999, did not
show any interest in the offspring and the youngsters were removed for
hand-rearing. One of the cubs died four days later. The second young
‘Knut’ weighed 810 g at birth and did much better.
The first six weeks he was kept in an incubator and his weight increased
to 3,9 kg in this period. He was then transferred to a larger, open box
kept at room temperature. The last polar bear to be successfully reared
at the zoo was 33 years ago.
Another significant birth reported by Berlin Zoo was that of a healthy
baby bonobo (Pan paniscus) on 24 February 2007. This was female
‘Yala’s’ third offspring and she is again taking good care of the youngster.
It is unclear which of the males in the group of six animals is the father,
a DNA test will clarify this in a later stage. There are two candidates, the
28-year-old ‘Simon’ or the two years younger ‘Santi’, as both have been
seen copulating with the female eight months earlier. Theoretically, even
the 12-year-old ‘Vifijo’, who arrived from Planckendael Zoo (Mechelen) at
the end of 2005, could be the father as he also was seen mating with Yala.
photo berlin zoo