Newborn colobus monkey named Darby

Denver Zoo welcomes its newest resident, a newborn colobus monkey named Darby. The infant, whose gender is still unknown, is all-white and can be seen being held by its mother, providing a rare and striking visual; although infants are born white, adults are mostly black with a white face border and white veiling flanks and a bushy white tail.

The monkey was born to mother, Sadie, and father, Ray, on Oct. 15 and is the first of this species to be born at Denver Zoo since 2004. Weather permitting, the infant can be seen with the rest of its troop in Primate Panorama at Denver Zoo. The newborn’s mother will eventually allow the other females in the troop to hold the infant, but for now holds her baby tight. This arboreal species has no problem moving about the trees with the infant in tow.

RED PANDA CUBS BORN

Denver Zoo’s new twin red panda cubs received a clean bill of health. The new additions were born on June 29. They are Amaya, a female, and Takeo, a male. Both were feisty as zoo vets checked their vitals and gave them their vaccines.

Amaya and Takeo are quite playful. Born with cream colored fur, the pair is being nurtured behind the scenes by mother Sophia before growing strong enough to be seen in their outdoor habitat. Although smaller, the twins now have their adult markings, resembling red-colored raccoons.

Snow Leopard Cubs Clean Bill of Health

All three snow leopard have been given a clean bill of health by Denver Zoo doctors.  Currently the cubs are bonding with mom behind the scenes, but zookeepers say they will be on exhibit soon!  Snow leopard Natasha gave birth to not one, not two, but three snow leopard cubs on Monday, June 30.  Natasha has her paws full with three cubs, which zookeepers say are one male and two females.  The new cubs weighed just over a pound at birth! They will grow to weigh as much as 110 pounds.

DENVER ZOO BECOMES HOME TO ORPHANED SEA LION PUP

A California sea lion pup that was found orphaned on Seal Rock in North Laguna, California, is now calling Denver Zoo home. The young male pup, named Nick, was rescued by the Pacific Marine Mammal Center (PMMC) in June of 2007. PMMC staff had been caring for the young sea lion until March 31 when he flew to Denver in style on a private chartered plane. Nick has been spending time behind the scenes getting to know his new caretakers but can now be seen in the outdoor harbor seal/sea lion pool.

DENVER ZOO ACQUIRES 19 FLAMINGO CHICKS FROM FAMED MIAMI VICE FLOCK

Denver Zoo recently acquired 19 flamingo eggs from Miami Metro Zoo in Miami, Florida. The now-hatched chicks come from the same famous Hialeah Park flock as the one seen in the opening credits of the television show Miami Vice.

The hatchlings began pecking their way out of their shells days after arriving at the zoo, with the first emerging fully on June 22 and the last on July 1.

ENDANGERED PRIMATE, AYE AYE, COMES TO DENVER ZOO

Denver Zoo has welcomed back an extremely rare and unique looking primate species after a 10-year hiatus, the aye-aye. A rare site in zoos, there are only two other zoos that exhibit these large-eyed, long-fingered primates. Including the two new arrivals to Denver Zoo, there are only 23 aye-ayes in North American institutions. Visitors can see this pair of aye-ayes in Denver Zoo’s Emerald Forest building inside Primate Panorama.

This breeding pair comes to Denver Zoo from the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina. Zookeepers say the duo is doing great adjusting to their new surroundings. Salem, a 7-year-old female, confidently sets the tone over her 7-year-old male counterpart, Ozony.

Denver Zoo’s guests can see ancient history swim before their very eyes with the recent addition to the zoo - five horseshoe crabs from the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab Aquarium in Panacea, Florida. Visitors can now see these odd-looking arthropods in Tropical Discovery.

Horseshoe crabs are named for their unique shaped bodies, which are dome-shaped, armored shells that resemble horse hooves. They’ve looked that way since dinosaurs roamed the earth. Horseshoe crabs are often referred to as living fossils as they have changed little in more than 250 million years.

Denver Zoo is celebrating the birth of a brand new, endangered Grevy’s zebra. Born to mother, Topaz and father, Punda, on Friday, June 27, at 7:30 p.m., the new arrival, a male named Elliot, can be seen outside in the southern zebra yard, weather permitting.

Elliot got off to a quick start by standing within an hour after being born. This is the first foal for Topaz and she is already proving to be an excellent mother, keeping a watchful eye over the young colt. Elliot is shy and tends to remain at his mother’s side.

Although similar to the Texas Longhorn, Ankole-Watusi horns are more than just for show. This animal’s horns act as a cooling mechanism, providing reprieve from the hot African sun.  Blood flows through the horns to the tip dispensing heat along the way.  The blood returns to the body cooler lowering the body temperature.

Cute Cubs Make Their Debut –

Our new baby hyena cubs were born on March 3. These furry creatures are doing well and are now old enough to be seen outside! The hyenas’ parents, Ngozi and Kibo, are keeping a special eye on their new cubs.  Visit these energetic and playful furry friends today at Predator Ridge!

Denver Zoo is celebrating the birth of an endangered eastern bongo antelope that was born on March 30. Zookeepers named the rambunctious male calf Mkono, (muh-kone-oh) which means “handful” in Swahili. Mkono is the fifth calf born to mother, Megan. Mother and calf have been spending time behind the scenes, but can now be seen in their outdoor habitat along with Mkono’s older sister, 15-month-old Maddie.

At Mkono’s baby wellness exam, zoo veterinarians gave the new calf a clean bill of health.

Denver Zoo is celebrating the birth of two endangered golden lion tamarins that came into the world on March 10. Mother, Rosie, and father, Siamo, have proven to be excellent parents to the pair of twins born in July, Alex and Annie, and again are taking excellent care of the new arrivals! Guests can see the entire family in the Emerald Forest exhibit in Denver Zoo’s Primate Panorama.

A Malayan tapir, who came from the Belfast Zoo in Ireland is named Bengkulu, after a province in Indonesia (a part of this species’ habitat), zookeepers fondly call the new arrival Benny.

Although Benny just turned 2, he is already almost full grown, weighing in at approximately 675 pounds!

Malayan tapirs are the largest of the four tapir species and are the only tapir native to Asia. Once found throughout Southeast Asia, they now inhabit only the rainforests of the Indochinese peninsula.

Two male Western lowland gorillas now call Denver Zoo home. Brothers, 13-year-old Curtis and 11-year-old Charlie, from North Carolina Zoo, have been spending time behind the scenes getting acquainted with their new zookeepers, and now can be seen exploring their new indoor digs.

Zoo veterinarians gave both males clean bills of health at their recent check-ups, where Curtis weighed in at a whopping 454 pounds, and Charlie a close second at 434 pounds. Zookeepers say the brothers are doing great adjusting to their new routine and can be seen in the afternoons inside the Great Apes Building.

Having little chance of survival in the wild after loosing their mothers, these two young mountain lion cubs have found shelter and care at Denver Zoo. Denver Zoo officials answered the call from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Mountain Lion Population Management Group (PMP) asking the Zoo to assist the South Dakota Department of Game and Fish and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in rescuing the young cubs.

The pair has recently been moved to their new home, an outdoor yard on the south side of the zoo, where visitors can see these active cats at play.