Courtesy: ZooTampa
TAMPA, Fla. – ZooTampa at Lowry Park welcomed several newborn animals this year, including a rescued manatee’s calf and a critically endangered Eastern bongo.
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ZooTampa animal conservation efforts
What we know:
ZooTampa at Lowry Park say they welcomed a female manatee calf named Beatrix, marking the park’s first manatee birth in more than 10 years. Her mother, who remains in critical condition following a watercraft injury in the Manatee River, is bonding well with the newborn while animal care staff monitor both closely.
The facility also celebrated the birth of Liberty, a female Eastern bongo calf born on July 3 weighing 38 pounds and standing two feet tall. The zoo says this birth marks the seventh Eastern bongo delivered at the zoo over five years for a species with fewer than 100 individuals remaining in the wild because of habitat loss and poaching.
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Additional zoo births this year
By the numbers:
The park’s current baby boom includes multiple new animals born across several species:
- 1 female manatee calf
- 3 Eastern bongo calves
- 2 southern white rhinos
- 2 impalas
- 2 nyalas
- 4 Bali mynah chicks
- 3 African spoonbill chicks
- 6 green-naped lorikeet chicks
Courtesy: ZooTampa
Wildlife protection and breeding
What they’re saying:
“The births of these species, many of which are listed as critically endangered, endangered or threatened, highlight the Zoo’s ongoing conservation efforts and commitment to saving species,” ZooTampa said in a statement.
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