Lola, a 7-year-old black-and-white colobus monkey, gave birth to a male infant on September 24! Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.
Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago has a new arrival! Say hello to this adorable baby black-and-white colobus monkey!
Born on September 24, the male infant is in good hands with mother Lola. He is Lola’s first baby and was sired by an 11-year-old colobus monkey named Oku.
The baby is in good hands with mama Lola and the rest of the troop. He is also being closely monitored by zoo staff. Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.
They live with other members of the troop, including maternal grandma Kutaka, age 22, and Nola’s siblings, 3-year-old brother Kean and 4-year-old sister Zinga.
“Nola is already proving to be a great mom, and we’re excited to see how the other females in the troop develop their parenting abilities with the baby, something common for colobus monkeys,” said Curator Dani Fogarty.
In the wild, colobus monkeys, also called guerezas, live in the forests of central Africa. They spend all their lives in trees and have special butt pads which helps them sit on branches comfortably.
Meet Tacama, a Bolivian gray titi monkey and the newest resident at Lincoln Park Zoo! Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.
Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago welcomed a new Bolivian gray titi monkey recently. Tacama, a 14-year-old female Bolivian gray titi monkey, joined resident titi monkey Ocho. The zoo hopes the pair will produce offspring in the future.
According to Dani Fogarty, Curator at Lincoln Park Zoo, “The two hit it off almost immediately upon introduction and they continue to choose to spend time together, often with their tails intertwined they sit on one of the many branches in their habitat.”
Tacama and Ocho are already displaying their compatibility. Here they have their tails entwined, which is similar to people holding hands. Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.
Bolivian gray titi monkeys are arboreal, meaning they live in trees and rarely come down to the forest floor. They are native to the southern portion of the Amazon River basin.
The average Bolivian gray titi monkey is around 33 cm (13 in.) long when measuring their head and body, but their tails are an additional 38-46 cm (15 to 18 in.) long. Their tail is not prehensile, meaning it can’t grasp things like the tails of other monkey species.
International Red Panda Day takes place on the third Saturday of every September! Photo by Mathias Appel / Public Domain / Flickr.
International Red Panda Day is celebrated on the third Saturday of every September to help raise awareness about a very special, endangered animal. This year, International Red Panda Day is on September 19, 2026. Let’s learn more about red pandas with five cool facts!
1. Red pandas are not closely related to giant pandas.
Although they’re both called pandas, red pandas are not a type of giant panda. The word “panda” is thought to come from the Nepali word, “ponya”, which means bamboo eater or bamboo-footed. And similar to giant pandas, red pandas mostly eat bamboo.
Red pandas are not a type of panda, nor are they related to foxes or raccoons. Photo by Mathias Appel / Public Domain / Flickr.
2. Red pandas have to eat a LOT of bamboo everyday.
A red panda must eat 1-2 kg (2-4 lb.) of bamboo per day in order to get enough nutrition. That’s a lot of leaves! In fact, a female red panda was once recorded as having eaten 20,000 bamboo leaves in one day!
A red panda eating bamboo leaves. Photo by Mathias Appel / Public Domain / Flickr.
3. Red pandas wrap themselves up in their bushy tails when they sleep.
To conserve energy, they can also go into a deep sleep called torpor. In torpor, their body temperature lowers and their respiration rate goes down.
Red pandas curl up using their tails while they sleep. Photo by Mathias Appel / Public Domain / Flickr.
4. Red pandas spend most of their time in trees.
Sharp, retractable claws allow red pandas to grip branches and climb down tree trunks head first. Long tails help them keep their balance.
Red pandas are arboreal, meaning they spend most their time in trees. Photo by Mathias Appel / Public Domain / Flickr.
5. When threatened, red pandas stare at their enemy, bob their heads, arch their tails and stand up on their hind legs.
They can also scratch and release a foul odor from scent glands at the base of their tail. Pee-yew!
Imagine being stared down by this face! Photo by Mathias Appel / Public Domain / Flickr.
Hope you enjoyed our roundup of fun red panda facts! Learn more cool red panda facts at our article, Red Panda.
A female baby pygmy hippo was born at Toronto Zoo on August 2. Photo by Toronto Zoo.
A female pygmy hippo calf was born at Toronto Zoo on August 2!
Within 15 minutes of her birth, the little baby hippo was trying to stand. And after a few hours, she was walking around her enclosure and nursing from her mother, Kindia.
The baby pygmy hippo, named Maple, is being cared for by her mama, Kindia. Photo by Toronto Zoo.
The baby, named Maple, is Kindia’s third calf. Kindia has been very attentive to the newborn, but the Toronto Zoo animal care team will still closely monitor Maple to ensure her healthy development.
Watch a video of Maple’s birth:
Pygmy hippopotamuses inhabit the forests and swamps of West Africa. They are endangered, with only 2000-3000 pygmy hippos alive in the wild. Threats include habitat loss and fragmentation as well as hunting.
Maple is being monitored closely by the Toronto Zoo animal care team. Photo by Toronto Zoo.
Toronto Zoo works with other organizations in Ivory Coast to help understand pygmy hippos and figure out ways to protect them. If you would like to support the zoo in their conservation efforts, visit their website.
To learn more about hippos, see our article, Hippopotamus.
Oakland Zoo welcomed a new female tiger named Sitara in July! Photo by Oakland Zoo.
Oakland Zoo in California welcomed a new female tiger in July! The new addition is named Sitara, which is Hindu for “star”.
Sitara was one of five tigers rescued by the zoo. These tigers were abandoned at a private facility, and they all had physical ailments like blindness, arthritis, or spinal disease.
Sitara was one of five tigers transferred to the Oakland Zoo for treatment. Photo by Oakland Zoo.
One of the tigers, seen here, was a white tiger who suffered from blindness. She was transferred to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge as her forever home after she was treated. Photo by Oakland Zoo.
Oakland Zoo vets treated the tigers, then three of the tigers were transferred to other facilities for lifelong care. One of the tigers had health issues that were too extreme and had to be euthanized.
Sitara will stay on at Oakland Zoo as her permanent home. The Animal Care staff is training her so she learns how to navigate pools, a waterfall, raised platforms, grass, and vegetation in her new habitat. These are all features she’s never experienced before!
Sitara is adjusting to her new habitat at Oakland Zoo. Animal Care staff is training her how to navigate new features like pools and waterfalls. Photo by Oakland Zoo.
Photo by Oakland Zoo.
For thirty years, Oakland Zoo has rescued big cats who have been impacted by private ownership and the commercial wildlife trade. They work with government agencies and other accredited organizations to provide care and forever homes to big cats who have been mistreated.
To learn more and to support Oakland Zoo’s efforts, see their website.
For more information about tigers, see our article, Siberian Tiger.
Ralston, a rescued manatee, returned home to the Halifax River in Florida in August. Photo by SeaWorld Orlando.
After months of rehabilitation, SeaWorld Orlando recently released Ralston, a Florida manatee, back to the wild!
Ralston was brought to SeaWorld Orlando by Florida Fish and Wildlife Service after he got severely injured by a crab trap. His left pectoral flipper had to be amputated, but with daily care from SeaWorld’s Animal Team, his health recovered, and he was ready to go back home.
Ralston was transported by van to the Halifax River in Florida, where his rescue was originally made.
Using a crane, the Animal Team was able to lift Ralston into the van gently. Photo by SeaWorld Orlando.
Ralston was transported by van back to the Halifax River, where he was found. Photo by SeaWorld Orlando.
After months of rehabilitation, Ralston was ready to return to the wild! SeaWorld vets microchipped him so if he finds himself at another rescue facility in the future, the vets there will be able to access all of his veterinary history and information. Photo by SeaWorld Orlando.
Pssssst! World Snake Day is celebrated every year on July 16! Photo by Cavan Images / iStock.com.
Did you know World Snake Day takes place every year on July 16? To celebrate, here are five fun facts about these slithery reptiles:
1. All snakes are carnivores.
That means all snakes eat meat. In particular, they may eat mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, eggs, worms, and insects. Watch this video of an egg-eating snake swallowing a large egg whole:
2. There are over 3,000 species of snakes.
Some species, like the Barbados threadsnake, are as small as 10 cm (4 in.) fully grown. Others, like the reticulated python, can grow to be over 6 m (20 ft.) long.
Some snakes, like this Barbados threadsnake, are tiny! Photo by Velatrix, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
3. Some snakes are venomous.
That means they produce a toxic saliva. Usually, the venom is injected into their prey through their fangs, though some species spit the venom.
King cobras are venomous. They have sharp hollow fangs that inject venom into their prey. Photo by DikkyOesin / iStock.com.
4. Baby snakes are called snakelets.
Some baby snakes hatch from eggs their mothers lay. Some snakelets hatch from eggs inside their mothers’ bodies. And some snakelets are born live (with no eggshell).
A baby Grevy’s zebra was born on June 22 at Lincoln Park Zoo! Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.
A baby Grevy’s zebra was born on June 22 at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago! The newborn foal and her mama, Adia, are doing well and are being monitored by the zoo’s Animal Care and veterinary staff.
The foal is Adia’s sixth offspring. She will live with Adia, two-year-old sister Yabelo, and adult female Delrie. While the foal was able to run just an hour after birth, she will remain dependent on her mother for the first seven months.
The zebra foal will be dependent on her mother, Adia, for the first seven months. Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.
The baby zebra has reddish-brown stripes that will only turn black once she is older. She weighed about 45 kg (100 lb.) at birth and will grow to be around 385 kg (850 lb.) as an adult.
In the wild, Grevy’s zebras inhabit Ethiopia and Kenya. They are an endangered species, with only around 2000 wild Grevy’s zebras alive today.
According to Curator Dan Boehm, “We’re proud to play a part in conserving the Grevy’s zebra population through important births like this one.”
Grevy’s zebras are listed as endangered by the IUCN Redlist. There are only around 2000 Grevy’s zebra in the wild. Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.
Oakland Zoo welcomed the fourth bison calf of the season in June! The birth also marked a major milestone: the 50th bison calf born since the start of a program in 2016 to restore bison back to the wild. Photo by Oakland Zoo.
Oakland Zoo welcomed an adorable baby bison earlier this month! Affectionately called a “red dog”, the calf sports a reddish-brown coat and is very playful.
This was the zoo’s fourth bison calf birth this season and the 50th bison birth since the start of Oakland Zoo’s partnership with Blackfeet Nation and Indigenous LED in 2016. The goal of the program is to restore bison to free-ranging herds roaming Blackfeet Territory and Glacier National Park in Montana.
Affectionately called “red dogs”, bison calves sport a reddish-brown coat when they’re born, and they’re very playful. Photo by Oakland Zoo.
In May, the program transported five zoo-born bison by trailer to a free-ranging herd in Montana. The additions to the herd will promote genetic diversity and will help bolster the population of bison in the wild.
The program transported five zoo-born bison by trailer in May to their natural habitat in Montana to join a free-ranging herd. Photo by Oakland Zoo.
In the early 1900s, American bison (also known as buffalo) nearly went extinct due to the surge of settlers moving west. Currently, bison numbers are improving but the populations still lack genetic diversity. The partnership of Oakland Zoo, Blackfeet Nation, and Indigenous LED aims to address that issue with captive breeding.
“With the birth of its 50th calf, the Oakland Zoo is helping bring home far more than buffalo to the Blackfeet Nation. Together, we are restoring threads that were once severed—between people and place, culture and identity, memory and future—showing what becomes possible when restoration is rooted in relationship,” says Cristina Mormorunni, Executive Director of Indigenous LED.
Bison calf and mama. Photo by Oakland Zoo.
The bison calf will eventually join a free-ranging herd in Montana. Photo by Oakland Zoo.
