Nearly 1,000 babies — some endangered — born at Singapore zoo. See adorable ‘baby boom'

Miami Herald

27-03-2025

Animals around the world face novel threats and environmental pressures that test their ability to adapt.
As population numbers dwindle for threatened species in the wild, wildlife officials have turned to captive breeding programs and zoos to help keep species alive.
One of these organizations is the Mandai Wildlife Group in Singapore, and they're celebrating a monumental 'baby boom' year.
A total of 998 babies across 143 species were born in 2024, the organization announced in a March 27 news release.
'This milestone surpasses the previous year's record, which had set the highest number of births and hatchings in the past decade,' the organization said.
About one-fourth of the animals comes from threatened species, as 34 babies were born to species listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, ranging from threatened to critically endangered.
'Of the 143 species successfully bred by Mandai Wildlife Group last year, 23 are part of internationally managed breeding programmes like the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria's (EAZA) Ex-situ Programme (EEP),' the organization said. 'These programmes aim to maintain genetically healthy and sustainable populations of species under human care while supporting conservation efforts in the wild.'
Five slender-tailed meerkats were born last year, marking the first births in the species since 2019, the organization said.
A proboscis monkey baby was also born, and was named 'Putri,' meaning 'princess' in Malay and Indonesian languages.
'The second offspring to parents Malaka and Jeff, Putri can often be seen playing with her brother Bayu or clinging to her mum at the proboscis monkey habitat. Proboscis monkeys are listed as endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with wild populations declining due to habitat loss from deforestation for timber and oil palm plantations,' the organization said.
The birth of endangered golden mantella and black-legged poison frogs were facilitated by wildlife staff because the species need 'highly specific water conditions,' according to the organization. The staff adjusted the temperature and humidity of their habitats to simulate seasonal changes, and the eggs were retrieved for 'assisted hatching.'
'As a result, the tally of golden mantella hatchlings reached 31 — the highest in three years,' the organization said.
Other successes include the establishment of an assurance colony of Chrisangi leaf insects to prevent extinction of the species, along with fawns from Malayan sambar deer, barasinghas and hog deer.
Births of Turkmenian markhor were the first kids for five years, belonging to a species that is perfectly adapted to mountainous and rocky environments, according to the organization.
'Meanwhile, keepers also welcomed a male woylie at the Tasmanian Devil Trail. This is the fifth joey of this critically endangered species born at Night Safari since 2021,' the organization said. 'The joey, which initially stayed close to its mum after birth, is now growing bolder, curiously exploring its habitat and engaging in enrichment activities.'
A giant anteater pup and a West Indian manatee calf also joined the cohort of new arrivals, the manatee described as 'shy' and building a relationship with a calf born last year.
'The two can often be seen grazing together,' the organization said. 'The latest calf, like her buddy, was bottle-fed by the aquarists and tended to round-the-clock as no nursing behavior was observed from its mum.'
Baby gentoo penguins were born at the 'Bird Paradise' for the first time, with two hatchlings born to parents Riki and Peach, and one to parents Citrus and Enzo, according to the organization.
'The oldest, though relatively shy, has made friends of her own while the second, the only male, has gained a reputation as the most vocal and demanding,' the organization said.
'Every birth in our parks reflects the dedication of our animal care and veterinary teams, as well as the success of international breeding collaborations,' deputy chief executive officer Cheng Wen-Haur said in the release. 'With each new arrival, we reinforce our commitment to maintaining sustainable populations in our parks and contributing to long-term conservation efforts.'
Mandai Wildlife Group is based in Singapore, an island city-state in southeast Asia between Malaysia and Indonesia.