Breeding programme pays off

An Arabian oryx has been born at the Joburg Zoo, while six wattled crane chicks have hatched, among 70 newborns this year.
THIS year has been a good one for the Johannesburg Zoo, which has recorded 70 newborns.

Emporor TamarinA new-born emporor tamarinThey bring the total number of animals at the zoo to 1 729. The new animals include an endangered Arabian oryx calf, a gemsbok calf and an Africa buffalo calf; vital to the zoo’s breeding programme, it also added wattled crane chicks to its family.

According to Letta Madlala, the brand and communications manager, 20 years ago the Arabian oryx was virtually extinct in the wild. Breeding and conservation efforts by the zoo and other wildlife organisations, are having some success in saving the species.

“This new calf will help international conservation efforts to ensure the species survival,” adds Madlala.

Speaking about the African buffalo, she points out that it is the third successful birth in the past three years by Thatohatsi, an eight-year-old African buffalo mother, to three male buffalos at the zoo.

Among the herbivores born is a Barbary sheep, a threatened wild sheep species found in Africa, as well as twin Zulu sheep. The Zulu sheep is an indigenous domestic sheep species found in South Africa.

In the primate section, an emperor tamarin was born. The animals originate from South America and are endangered in Brazil and Peru. It is a tiny primate, weighing only 500 grams when it is fully grown.

Other youngsters growing at the zoo include buffed-cheeked gibbon, six wattled crane chicks, blue duiker, bushbuck and nyala calves, as well as Cameroon pygmy goat kids. The zoo is looking forward to more births in the warm summer months to come, explains Madlala.

The zoo counts six African buffalos, seven Arabian oryx, six gemsbok, 13 Zulu sheep, 14 bushbuck and 20 Cameroon pygmy goats among its wildlife.