14 adorable animals born during Chester Zoo's baby boom

Here are some the adorable creatures great and small born at the zoo this year...

1. Sumatran orangutan

Born on Thursday to mum Subis, this little critter has got staff at the zoo very excited as her species is critically endangered.

The tiny newcomer was spotted in its mums arms by keeping staff while they were doing their daily morning checks.

2. Nandita Hi Way the Asian elephant

Nandita was born on Thursday, August 20 to experienced mum Thi Hi Way.

The zoo’s Hi Way family of Asian elephants span four generations and Thi is also mum to Sithami, 18, grandmother to Sundara, 11 and Bala, two, and great grandmother to Hari, three.

Chester Zoo is part of a breeding programme coordinated by the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums (EAZA) that is focused on sustaining a viable elephant population in Europe.

3. Meerkats

A lively quartet of adorable meerkat pups were born on June 11 following an 11-week gestation. Aren't they adorable?

4. Onager foals

The two exceptionally rare onagers arrived within hours of each other to mums Jamila and Zarrin and dad, Holmes on July 4 after year-long pregnancies.

Tim Rowlands, curator of mammals at Chester Zoo, said: “Onagers are the rarest equid species in the world and one of the rarest animals that we have here at the zoo, so we were absolutely delighted to have two foals arrive - one male and one female - during the same night."

5. Tiger cub triplets

This adorable trio were born in January to mum Kirana and dad Fabi.

Almost 8,000 votes were cast to name the one female - Kasarna - and two male Sumatran tigers - Jaya and Topan.

6. Rock hyraxes

The tiny quartet were born on July 25. As soon as rock hyrax babies are born they look like miniature adults – with their eyes and ears open and with the same coat - but despite being small in stature, the species actually has an incredible genetic link to the elephant.

Nick Davis, assistant curator of mammals at the zoo, said: “It’s quite an oddity but rock hyraxes and elephants share a number of common features.

“For example a small mammal would typically go through a short gestation period but the rock hyrax is different, with pregnancies lasting over seven months (245 days) – highlighting a connection to their much larger relatives.
 

7. Warthog piglets

The piglets arrived to second-time mum Kizzy and dad, Magnum after a six month pregnancy on June 11.

Tim Rowlands, curator of mammals at Chester Zoo, said: “We’ve definitely had a baby boom at the zoo recently and we’re thrilled to see our latest arrivals outside enjoying the sunshine.

"This is Kizzy’s second litter and she is very relaxed with her new arrivals, doing a great job caring for her youngsters. Kizzy obviously feels very confident that the pair are strong enough to roam out in the open, but I’m sure she will stay very close to them for the next few months to ensure they get all the love and attention that they need.”

8. Two Rothschild's giraffes

Chester Zoo is still celebrating after the birth of a rare Rothschild's giraffe Kidepo in July. 

Kidepo is the most recent addition to the ‘baby boom’ of rare Rothschilds’s giraffes at the zoo, following on from the births of Zahra in December 2014 and Sanyu in June.
 

9. Black rhino

Chester Zoo released amazing footage in January after the birth of female black rhino calf Fara.

Born on January 31 at 8.15am, Fara is the offspring of 17-year-old Kitani and 15-year-old dad, Sammy.

Sammy’s genes are extremely valuable as he has never before sired a calf since moving from Japan in 2002 to join the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme for the critically endangered animals.
 

10. Barbiruso

One of the rarest piglets in the world was born at Chester Zoo in March.

The baby babirusa, named Matano by zookeepers, was born to mum Majene following a 161-day pregnancy.

Babirusa are native to the Indonesian island of Sulawesi where their numbers are in serious decline due to habitat loss through logging and hunting for their meat.

Chester Zoo is one of only a handful of zoos in the whole of Europe which has successfully bred the distinctive animals and the arrival of Matano is therefore being heralded as “important for the future of the species.”

11. White-winged ducks

The arrival of the two white-winged ducklings in June gave a boost to a species listed as endangered in the wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Chester Zoo is one of just a handful of zoos in Europe currently working with the Asian duck species and experts fear few as just 250 could now remain as a result of widespread destruction to their habitats throughout their native South East Asia.


12. Pekin robins

These adorable pekin robin chicks were hand-reared by specialist bird keepers at Chester Zoo.

Curator of birds Andrew Owen said: “It’s incredibly important for our staff to develop their hand-rearing skills at the zoo as these can then readily be applied to highly threatened species in the wild, such as in places like Mauritius where we’ve hit the right note by successfully helping the likes of the Mauritius olive white-eye, Mauritius fody and Mauritius cuckoo shrike.”

Pekin robins are a small songbird, native to the Himalayas and China.  

13. Penguin chicks.

The first Humboldt penguin chicks of 2015 emerged from their eggs in April.

Weighing only 68g, baby chick Panay – named after an exotic island in the Philippines – was the first of eight to hatch at the zoo.

Each year, zookeepers use a naming theme for newly-born chicks, which has previously included British Olympic athletes, England football legends and even chocolate bars. 

The chicks have been named after the South East Asian development that visitors will enjoy later in the summer when the zoo unveils its new £40m Islands development.

14. More rare ducklings

The Baer’s pochard, a species which is on the brink of extinction, were spotted on a camera inside an incubator in August determinedly making its way out into the world to take its very first breath.

Amy Vercoe, a lead bird keeper at the zoo, said: “These ducklings tend to hatch at night meaning we miss the big moment when they finally manage to push their way out.

“On this occasion, the action happened in the daytime and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to catch the beginnings of the duckling’s new life on camera.

“Baer’s pochard are incredibly rare and there can’t be many people who have witnessed a hatching, so it was a real privilege to see it.”