Busch Gardens Archives - Animal Fact Guide

Double Cuteness: Two Baby Sloths at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Posted on April 21, 2016 by admin

Meet the newest baby sloths at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: Daisy’s baby (left) and Grizzly’s baby (right). Photo by Busch Gardens.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay recently welcomed two baby sloths!

A Hoffman’s two-toed sloth was born on March 24 to mother Grizzly and father Teddy. The little one only weighed 186 grams (6.6 ounces) at birth and wasn’t nursing regularly. So the animal care team at Busch Gardens decided to hand-nurse the baby via syringe every two hours. Currently, the baby is healthy and under 24-hour watch.

The animal care team feeds Grizzly’s baby by syringe. Photo by Busch Gardens.

A Linne’s two-toed sloth was born on April 2 to mother Daisy and father Mario. Weighing 550 grams (19.4 ounces) at birth, the baby is currently healthy and being cared for by its mother. The animal care team is monitoring closely.

The animal care team checks Daisy’s baby, who is still under her daily care.

Watch a video below of the two baby sloths:

One interesting fact about two-toed sloths is that they actually have three toes. (All sloths have three toes per foot.) But two-toed sloths have only two claws per foot. For more interesting sloth facts, see our article about the brown-throated three-toed sloth.

VIDEO: Southern White Rhino Calf at Busch Gardens

Posted on November 4, 2015 by admin

Busch Gardens Tampa welcomed a female southern white rhinoceros calf on October 16. The calf is healthy and is currently being cared for by experienced mother Kisiri with the Busch Gardens animal care team watching closely.

Photo by Busch Gardens.

Newborn white rhinoceroses usually weigh about 150 pounds and can gain four pounds every day for the first year. White rhinos are the second largest land mammal after the elephant and can weigh as much as 5,000 pounds when fully grown.

The southern white rhinoceros is classified as a near-threatened species with just over 20,000 left in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN).

Learn more about the baby southern white rhino at the Busch Gardens Tampa blog.

Baby Aardvark at Busch Gardens

Posted on October 19, 2015 by admin

Photo by Busch Gardens, Tampa.

Busch Gardens welcomed an odd, yet adorable, newborn earlier this fall. A little baby aardvark was born to mother Izzy on September 18.

With hairless, wrinkly skin and large floppy ears, some call the little baby “ugly-cute.” After a few weeks, the folds of skin will disappear and the ears will stand up straight.

Watch a video of the little aardvark here:

Baby Ring-Tailed Lemurs at Busch Gardens

Posted on May 21, 2015 by admin

Awww! Busch Gardens Tampa recently welcomed three baby ring-tailed lemurs. First-time mother Canada gave birth to Squirt on March 19, and twins Schweps and Seagramms were born to Ginger on March 27.

Photo by Busch Gardens Tampa.

Photo by Busch Gardens Tampa.

See the adorable baby ring-tailed lemurs in the video below:

Ring-tailed lemurs are considered endangered by the IUCN Red List. The main threat to their population is habitat destruction. Much of their habitat is being converted to farmland or burned for the production of charcoal.

To learn more about ring-tailed lemurs, see our ring-tailed lemur facts article.

Endangered Baby Gorilla at Busch Gardens

Posted on February 16, 2015 by admin

A western lowland gorilla named Mary with her new baby at Busch Gardens. Photo by Busch Gardens.

A female western lowland gorilla was born at Busch Gardens Tampa on February 6! This brings the gorilla troop at the Busch Gardens Myombe Reserve habitat to seven!

What a sweet face! Both mother and baby are doing well and are being monitored by the animal care staff. Photo by Busch Gardens.

“The first month will be the critical period as the mother, Mary, and the infant begin to integrate into the current gorilla troop, so the Busch Gardens animal care team will be monitoring their progress closely,” said Jeff Andrews, vice president of zoological operations for Busch Gardens.

Watch a video below of mama and baby!

Busch Gardens Announces Baby Anteater

Posted on May 8, 2014 by admin

Southern tamandua baby at Busch Gardens.

This little Southern tamandua (lesser anteater) pup will ride on his mother’s back for the next several months at Busch Gardens. Photo by Busch Gardens.

Busch Gardens welcomed a Southern tamandua on April 13. Tamanduas are also known as lesser anteaters. The baby tamandua, or pup, will spend the next several months riding on its mother’s back. Both mother and pup are currently under the watch of the Busch Gardens’ animal care team behind the scenes.

In the wild, tamanduas live in Central and South America.

Learn more at the Busch Gardens website.

Photo by Busch Gardens.

Baby Giraffes at Busch Gardens

Posted on May 8, 2014 by admin

Busch Gardens experienced a baby boom this spring!

Three giraffe calves were born in March to mothers Bititi, Tequiza and Celina at Busch Gardens. Photo by Busch Gardens.

There were three reticulated giraffes born on March 12, 14, and 18 to mothers Bititi, Tequiza, and Celina. At birth, the two female calves were 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed over 100 pounds. The male calf was more than 6 feet tall and weighed nearly 150 pounds! The females will eventually grow to be about 16 feet tall, and the male will be 18 feet tall. (Giraffes are the tallest mammals on earth!)

Within an hour of being born, all the calves were standing up. And within two hours, they were all nursing! For now, the babies will reside behind-the-scenes, but in the coming weeks they will be on view on Busch Gardens’ Serengeti Plain.

For more information, visit the Busch Gardens website.

To learn more about giraffes, visit our giraffe facts page.

Endangered Zebra Born at Busch Gardens

Posted on August 9, 2013 by admin

A newborn Grevy’s zebra foal with its mother at Busch Gardens. Photo by Busch Gardens.

An endangered Grevy’s zebra was born on August 5th at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. Within an hour of is birth, the little foal was able to stand on its own and nurse from its mother Brooke.

In the wild, Grevy’s zebras inhabit Kenya and Ethiopia. The population of Grevy’s zebra has declined by more than 50 percent in the last 18 years, and they are the only species of zebra that are listed as endangered by IUCN Red List.

See more photos of the Grevy’s zebra below. For more information, see the Busch Gardens website.

Photo by Busch Gardens.

Photo by Busch Gardens.

Busch Gardens Celebrates International Tiger Day

Posted on July 24, 2013 by admin

Endangered Malayan Tiger Cubs and Mom on Jungala Habitat

International Tiger Day takes place on July 29th, and Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida will be celebrating all weekend. In addition to discussions on tigers, feedings, and face painting, proceeds from the tigress and cubs plush toys sold in the Tiger Lodge gift shop in the Jungala area will be donated to the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund. On exhibit will be the endangered Malayan tiger cubs pictured.

Endangered Malayan Tiger Cubs and Mom on Jungala Habitat 2

Visit Busch Gardens.

Read about Siberian Tigers at Animal Fact Guide.

Malayan Tiger Cubs at Busch Gardens

Posted on May 2, 2013 by admin

Busch Gardens Tampa welcomed three Malayan tiger cubs on March 31st. There were two males and one female, each weighing around 6 pounds.

These births were part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan. Malayan tiger births are rare in captive breeding programs. There was only one successful birth in 2012, and this is the first Malayan tiger birth at Busch Gardens Tampa. The animal care team is monitoring the cubs and parents around the clock.

According to the IUCN Redlist, Malayan tigers are considered endangered in the wild. There are only 500 Malayan tigers living in their native habitat, which is the southern tip of Thailand and the Malay Peninsula. Threats include habitat fragmentation and poaching.

To learn more about the Malayan tiger cubs, see BuschGardensTampaBlog.com.