This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
I've been a bit remiss in posting much this week, mostly because I had to prep a guest lecture (from which I just returned, and it was awesome thankyouverymuch) on the Domestication of Social Cognition.
In the meantime, now that spring is here, baby animals are starting to pop up all over the LA Zoo. I haven't managed to make it to the zoo yet to see them, but in the meantime, enjoy these pictures (click each one to enlarge) provided by the zoo itself.
This baby koala (not a bear! koalas are marsupials, like kangaroos) was actually born on July 6, but because koalas, like kangaroos, spend the first six months of their lives in their mothers' pouches, Baby Fergie has only just begun to emerge from her mom's pouch.
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Then, on March 1, two Peninsular pronghorn, one male and one female, were born. These ungulates (hoofed animals) are native to Baja California Sur, in Mexico, and have the rare skill of being both sprinters as well as long-distance runners. According to the zoo,
Newborn pronghorns take their first steps within 30 minutes of birth. By the time they are four days old, they can outrun humans. After just a week, fawns can run faster than dogs and horseback riders over short distances. They are the second fastest land mammal and the fastest ungulate, clocking in at anywhere from 40 to 60 miles per hour. They can maintain this speed, without showing any sign of distress, for an hour or longer.
Finally, March 20 saw the birth of a female desert bighorn sheep. Bighorn sheep are native to the southwestern US and northern Mexico, and there are some that live in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles, though they have been threatened by wildfires, drought, predators, and disease. According to the zoo,
The most recognizable characteristic of the bighorn sheep is the male's massive, spiraled horns and their majestic faces. These horns may add up to one third of their total body weight when they're full grown. Females have much smaller horns.
In this picture, the baby tries to gnaw on mom's horn.
All images by Tad Motoyama/Los Angeles Zoo.
For more baby animals, be sure to check out ZooBorns.