#conservation

#conservation

San Diego Zoo Welcomes 41 Indian Narrow-headed Softshell TurtlesFor over two decades, staff at the San Diego Zoo have been hoping that the three Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles in their guardianship to one day reproduce. Recently, that hope came true — the rare turtles finally bred, and San Diego Zoo became "the first accredited organization in North America to hatch and raise the species."Over the summer, the zoo welcomed 41 hatchlings. Most of the eggs were stored in an artificial incubator designed for the survival of the hatchlings, while some eggs hatched successfully in the turtles' habitat.Kim Gray, the zoo's curator of herpetology and ichthyology, states that this event is "an incredible step forward" in the conservation efforts for these turtles.The Indian narrow-headed softshell turtles are native to South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, and Nepal, and the turtle is listed as an endangered species. There are multiple factors that threaten their survival, such as climate change, damming of rivers, increased flooding, and gravel mining.(Image Credit: Ana Ramirez/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)#Conservation #Animals #EndangeredSpecies #ConservationBreeding #Turtles

Dobby, the First Baby Aardvark Born at the Zoo, is Named After the Elf in Harry PotterFor the first time in 90 years, Chester Zoo in Upton-by-Chester, Chester, UK welcomed the birth of a baby aardvark.The baby girl was born overnight last January 4th to 8-year-old mom Oni and 6-year-old dad Koos. When it was born, it had big droopy ears, wrinkled skin that lacked hair, and huge claws. Zookeepers at Chester Zoo gave the baby aardvark a fitting nickname—Dobby, the beloved house elf from Harry Potter.Check out some photos of Dobby below.

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Study Finds that California Condors can Reproduce AsexuallyThanks to genetic testing, scientists now confirmed that California condors can have ‘virgin births.’ The endangered animals now have hope for avoiding extinction!According to the test made by researchers with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, two male chicks hatched from unfertilized eggs that were only related to their mothers. Around 467 male California condors were tested in the parentage analysis and none qualified as a potential sire. This is the first-ever report on asexual reproduction in the condors. An interesting note to this case is that both mothers who produced the baby condors asexually had access to their mates. Each mother bred with males and produced around 34 chicks. “These findings now raise questions about whether this might occur undetected in other species,” said Oliver Ryder, one of the researchers involved in the study. Image credit: wikimedia commons #CaliforniaCondors #Conservation #AsexualReproduction #Avians #Birds 