Latest news with #EuropeanEndangeredSpeciesProgram
DW
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- DW
Bon voyage Toni — Berlin readies pygmy hippo for France – DW – 08/15/2025
Berlin's beloved pygmy hippo Toni is moving to Mulhouse Zoo in France. Fans are invited to say au revoir at daily "Toni Time" events from August 18-24. The Berlin Zoo has announced that Toni, its beloved young pygmy hippopotamus, is being prepared to move to France, where she will take up residence at Mulhouse Zoo. She is moving to the Alsatian institution as part of the European Endangered Species Program (EEP), a conservation breeding program focused on maintaining healthy populations of endangered species in captivity. Since her birth on June 3, 2024, tiny Toni has won the hearts of locals and attracted a huge online following. The Berlin Zoo's Instagram following, for instance, has swelled from 125,000 to 254,000 since she arrived on the scene. Her popularity was also helped by her high-visibility sponsor, for whom she was ultimately named in a contest that saw 20,000 suggestions submitted — Berlin-born soccer player Antonio Rüdiger, a defender for the German national squad and Real Madrid in Spain. The Berlin Zoo has now set up a week of events focused on the small hippopotamus before she departs. "Toni Time," say zoo organizers, will allow visitors to see Toni in action, bid farewell and get a last photo with her before she leaves for her new home. The sessions will take place at 1:30 p.m. (1130 GMT) every day, between August 18 and 24. Depending on Toni's preference, she will either be treated to a shower or an extra portion of peanuts — her favorite snack — at the zoo's Hippo Bay facility during the events. Toni has been undergoing a new daily regimen since it was decided she would be moving to France. That regimen includes daily "crate training" to get her used to spending time in her transport confines before departure. Toni has also been spending afternoons on her own rather than with her mother Debbie. Pygmy hippos are reclusive, solitary and nocturnal animals. Zoo officials say it is entirely normal for those living in the wild to seek out their own surroundings when they are Toni's age. Pygmy hippos, native to West Africa, are on the red list of endangered species with less than 2,500 remaining in the wild according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a Switzerland-based nature conservancy. Native to Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone, and formerly Nigeria, the creature faces threat due to illegal poaching and the loss of natural habitat — mainly rainforest or marshy woods — to agricultural and real estate interests. Their reclusive and solitary nature also makes them highly sensitive to changes and disturbances around them. Berlin Zoo Director Andreas Knieriem says Toni's popularity has helped raise awareness for the plight of the creatures. "Toni is a wonderful ambassador for her species," he says. "She has the ability to touch people in a special way. That is the key to progress in protecting endangered animals and fostering the idea of species protection." It is hoped that in Mulhouse, Toni will further help the species and the EEP by having babies of her own.
New York Post
03-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
This lynx could become the first UK zoo-born cat to be successfully released into the wild
A lynx in England could become the first UK zoo-born cat to be successfully released into the wild. The nine-month-old Eurasian lynx, who was born in the Newquay Zoo in Cornwall, has been moved to southwestern Germany's Black Forest, which is an unusual move for animals born and raised in zoos. However, the request for its transfer was made due to a shortage of female lynxes in the European breeding program. Dina Gebhardt, the lynx-breeding coordinator for the European Endangered Species Program, was the one behind the demand. 'Basically I'm Tinder for the zoo-born lynx,' she told the BBC. A lynx born in the Newquay Zoo has been moved to southwestern Germany's Black Forest. Newquay Zoo/Facebook 'Our nature is very fragmented, due to railways and streets and cities. And this means we created a lot of barriers for the lynx, which leads to inbreeding.' The animal will spend several months in an enclosure being monitored to see if it can withstand the new conditions. John Meek, curator of plants and animals at the Newquay Zoo, was there to oversee the transition. 'I'm a big boy but I had a few tears in my eyes,' Meek told the outlet. 'Nowadays, zoos are not here to keep animals in cages. They're there for conservation. And this is it, conservation in action.' Eurasian lynx, which can weigh up to over 65 pounds, were native to the UK, but were wiped out in the wild around 1300 years ago because of hunting and habitat loss.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
An Asian elephant calf was born at Zurich Zoo and its name will start with the letter Z
ZURICH (AP) — A 19-year-old Asian elephant at the Zurich Zoo gave birth this weekend to a male calf whose name, starting with the letter Z, will be announced this week. A light-sensitive monitoring camera picked up the birth before dawn Saturday and the baby's earliest, wobbly steps inside the zoo's Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park. It's now home to six of the pachyderms: four females including mother Farha; bull elephant and father Thai; and the new calf. Zoo Director Severin Dressen said staff were happy but 'still cautious' about the birth. 'The first weeks of a calf's life are always the most delicate — even if the calf currently appears healthy and fit,' he said in a statement. The Asian elephant, or Elephas maximus, is a critically endangered species with about 50,000 estimated in the wild, and their numbers are declining, the zoo said. The zoo breeds the elephants as part of conservation efforts under the European Endangered Species Program, Dressen said. Zoo staffers made sure to keep Farha — already a mother of three — away from another female named Panang, who has had little previous experience with young animals, and the separation will continue for the coming days. Such births are relatively rare in zoos compared to those of other species because of the elephant's nearly two-year gestation period, zoo officials said. A zoo spokesman said the name of the new calf will be announced after a staff meeting on Wednesday, but 2025 is a 'Z' year so the moniker will automatically start with that letter.
The Independent
20-04-2025
- General
- The Independent
An Asian elephant calf was born at Zurich Zoo and its name will start with the letter Z
A 19-year-old Asian elephant at the Zurich Zoo gave birth this weekend to a male calf whose name, starting with the letter Z, will be announced this week. A light-sensitive monitoring camera picked up the birth before dawn Saturday and the baby's earliest, wobbly steps inside the zoo's Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park. It's now home to six of the pachyderms: four females including mother Farha; bull elephant and father Thai; and the new calf. Zoo Director Severin Dressen said staff were happy but 'still cautious' about the birth. 'The first weeks of a calf's life are always the most delicate — even if the calf currently appears healthy and fit,' he said in a statement. The Asian elephant, or Elephas maximus, is a critically endangered species with about 50,000 estimated in the wild, and their numbers are declining, the zoo said. The zoo breeds the elephants as part of conservation efforts under the European Endangered Species Program, Dressen said. Zoo staffers made sure to keep Farha — already a mother of three — away from another female named Panang, who has had little previous experience with young animals, and the separation will continue for the coming days. Such births are relatively rare in zoos compared to those of other species because of the elephant's nearly two-year gestation period, zoo officials said. A zoo spokesman said the name of the new calf will be announced after a staff meeting on Wednesday, but 2025 is a 'Z' year so the moniker will automatically start with that letter.
Associated Press
20-04-2025
- General
- Associated Press
An Asian elephant calf was born at Zurich Zoo and its name will start with the letter Z
ZURICH (AP) — A 19-year-old Asian elephant at the Zurich Zoo gave birth this weekend to a male calf whose name, starting with the letter Z, will be announced this week. A light-sensitive monitoring camera picked up the birth before dawn Saturday and the baby's earliest, wobbly steps inside the zoo's Kaeng Krachan Elephant Park. It's now home to six of the pachyderms: four females including mother Farha; bull elephant and father Thai; and the new calf. Zoo Director Severin Dressen said staff were happy but 'still cautious' about the birth. 'The first weeks of a calf's life are always the most delicate — even if the calf currently appears healthy and fit,' he said in a statement. The Asian elephant, or Elephas maximus, is a critically endangered species with about 50,000 estimated in the wild, and their numbers are declining, the zoo said. The zoo breeds the elephants as part of conservation efforts under the European Endangered Species Program, Dressen said. Zoo staffers made sure to keep Farha — already a mother of three — away from another female named Panang, who has had little previous experience with young animals, and the separation will continue for the coming days. Such births are relatively rare in zoos compared to those of other species because of the elephant's nearly two-year gestation period, zoo officials said. A zoo spokesman said the name of the new calf will be announced after a staff meeting on Wednesday, but 2025 is a 'Z' year so the moniker will automatically start with that letter.
