August 19, 2008
No New Pandas, Yes New Other Cuddly Animals
Photo of Golden Lion Tamarin, courtesy of the National Zoo, Jessie Cohen, NZP photographer |
Last week, panda lovers of D.C. shed many tears over the news that Mei Xiang will not be giving us a new baby panda this year, despite earlier signs indicating otherwise. This week, the Zoo would like you to remember that it does, in fact, have many other newborns at which to gawk.
An email sent around by FONZ last night touts the Zoo's twin baby golden lion tamarins, who were born at the Small Mammal House on July 17. The National Zoo has been working collaboratively with other zoos and researchers in Brazil on the captive breeding and habitat re-introduction of golden lion tamarins since 1992, and has been breeding the tamarins since the 1970s. With only 1500 left in the wild, these efforts are key to the species' survival. Over the past few decades, over 178 golden lion tamarins have been born at the National Zoo, and in the 1970s, only 200 were left in the wild. You can view the animals in their free-ranging area, or scroll down on this page to view a webcam.
This summer, the Zoo's Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal also welcomed two Przewalski's horses into the world. Przewalski's horses are native to Western Europe and Asia, and are the world's last remaining wild horses. They were classified as "extinct in the wild" by the World Conservation Union in 1970, and now approximately 1500 live in zoos internationally, all of which are descendants of only 14 horses captured in the early part of the twentieth century. The National Zoo is part of the Przewalski’s Horse Species Survival Plan, which manages the population to ensure health and genetic diversity. You can check in on the two new horses by reading their diary.
Other summertime births at the zoo include a kori bustard chick, two San Clemente goats, a prehensile-tailed porcupine, a greater Madagascar tenrec, a white-naped crane chick, and a tammar wallaby joey.
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I like the tamarin juice at Pollo Campero
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Does anyone know if those tamarins are GPS-tagged or anything? Because I have to imagine a free-range jailbreak of one of those cute little buggers would be incredibly easy to get away with otherwise.
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majapa - i think tamarins are extremely territorial and also tiny so there's little risk of them getting away. in addition, i believe the zoo has a volunteer program where folks come in a few hours for one day every week and take note and monitor their movement and behavior.
side note: has anyone ever seen a lemur at the zoo? i know where they're supposed to be but have never actually spotted one...
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Sorry - I didn't mean for them to get away, I meant for someone (certainly not myself! you didn't think I meant myself, right?) to grab one as a fun little pet, territorial or not.
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I've seen the lemurs a couple times. They were hanging out on their wooden platform or on the logs by the turtle pond.
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I believe the tamarins in the free range area do have tracking devices on them. They are only free ranging in the summertime.
Re: the lemurs, I have seen the lemurs at the zoo on Lemur Island. They are often hiding though! There used to also be a black and white ruffed lemur in a seprate caged area, apart from the ringtails on Lemur Island.
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Those tamarins are all cute until they use those tails to choke their victims. And the last thing you see before you go unconscious is that creepy smile as it eats your face.
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Me, I'm taking the tenrec home as a pet. They look like the lovechild of a hedgehog and a pencil.
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majapa - sorry, i totally mis-read that. i know i for one wouldn't want a tamarin to hold and squeeze and love forever...nope, too cute...
i guess i need to hang out more at the zoo to spot the lemurs, that or just go to madagascar. hmmm...
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"You can view the animals in their free-ranging area..."
If you click the link, it says they are not free-ranging this summer due to construction of the new elephant exhibit. So don't all run over there and walk around with your necks craned, running into trees for no reason.
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monkey, bad experience with one of your golden lion brethren?
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I want to find a zoo with free-ranging lions and tigers and bears ... oh my! Those GLTs leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth.
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Yeah! Having a pet monkey is a great idea
Go for it. Yes, I know I'm being like that guy Dane Cook talks about. He's said other stuff about me too. All true.
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Didn't anyone else see When Golden Lion Tamarins Attack on the Nature Channel? The worst part was when they used their prey's skulls as a chalice in their Black Mass ceremony. Feral primates I can handle, but I don't truck with Ba'al worship.
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The Small Mammal House at the zoo seems to be populated mostly by golden lion tamarins.
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For every monkey pet that turns on their owner you have three satisfied customers, whose helper monkeys do everything from nuke their Hot Pockets to hang up on telemarketers. And with only a minimal investment of a shock collar and a 50 lb bag of Purina Monkey Chow, you can even train them to track down and kill your enemies.
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@ flipperman, thanks for the correction. According to NZP's Public Affairs Specialist, the zoo used for the habitat is now under construction as part of Elephant Trails.
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i stand corrected. but I also live in fear that, when the revolution comes, it'll be monkey-pilots of giant robots. surly, that'll be it. so, that might as well spend this time learning our ways as they live among us...
That and the AI will use our cell phones to paralyze us and then the monkeys seize their chance...
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Seriously, if the singularity doesn't come from humans and computers, what's to say they don't move onto monkeys as the next best thing? SkyNet times MonkeyShines equals ChimpNet.
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Dude, have you looked at the President? ChimpNet took over circa 2001.
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I stand corrected again! That was an nice way to start the day. Remember, man is the animal that laughs...
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He's also the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.