Zoo Miami Zoo Miami News 2021

Zoofan15

Zoofan15

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Some sad news to start the year:

Zoo Miami euthanizes 12-year-old giraffe who suffered fractured foot

“It is with great sadness that Zoo Miami officials had to make the difficult decision this morning to euthanize Pongo, a nearly 12-year-old male giraffe,” the zoo officials said.

Doctors learned the hoof was fractured in a way that would prevent it from being successfully treated, so he was euthanized while under anesthesia.

Pongo came to the zoo in September 2009, just months after his birth in February of that year.
 
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Zoofan15 said:

A Conservation Centre has been built and will be open when the zoo reopens Jan 16:
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I recognize the exterior of the building as an existing one that previously filled the purpose as a zoo learning center, called "Dr. Wilde's World of Discovery." It is located along the zoo's main walkway before it reaches the siamang and gibbon island exhibits and main monorail tram boarding station. This refresh is nice to see at this very fine zoo.
 
Three North American river otter pups were born February 5:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article249167980.html

Not only was this the first litter for Zinnia, it was also the first birth of this otter species at the zoo.

Zinnia arrived at Zoo Miami in April 2019 from the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island where she was born. She carried her pups for about two months before giving birth on Feb. 5.

The father of the pups, Edison, arrived at Zoo Miami in October 2016.
 
A Somali Wild Ass has been born at Zoo Miami:
Zoo Miami is celebrating the birth of a critically endangered Somali Wild Ass that was born sometime around sunrise this morning! The foal, the 9th born at Zoo Miami, and its mother, a mare named “Lisha,” are now on exhibit and the baby seems to be adapting well. At nearly 23 years old, Lisha is the oldest Somali Wild Ass to ever give birth in North America! A neonatal exam is planned in the next day or so to confirm the sex of the baby as well as getting its weight, collecting blood, and inserting a transponder for identification. Somali Wild Asses are among the world’s most critically endangered equids with less than 1,000 believed to still exist in the wild. It is the last remaining ancestor of the modern donkey. They are the smallest of the wild equids and are found in the rocky deserts in very isolated areas of Eastern Africa. Adults weigh approximately 500 pounds and mares give birth to usually a single foal after a gestation of 11 months. They are characterized by their smooth gray coat and their striped legs which are indicative of their close relation to zebras.Zoo Miami began exhibiting the highly endangered Somali Wild Ass in 2011 and is part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a carefully planned captive breeding program designed to maintain healthy populations of these extremely rare animals for generations to come.
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Zoo Miami
 
I came across this message on the Zoo's instagram.
It seems that lioness Kashifa suffered some sort of injury to her spinal cord, hopefully she can recover. How many lions does Miami Zoo actually have?

"On March 4th, Kashifa, Zoo Miami’s 11 year old lioness, was noted to have suddenly lost the ability to use her hind limbs while on exhibit. The veterinary team was able to anesthetize her and perform baseline diagnostics immediately and did not find an obvious cause for her paraplegia. Within 48 hours, Kashifa underwent an MRI to further evaluate her spine and nerve function, and was determined to have sustained a non-compressive injury to her spinal cord. She is being medically managed by the animal health and animal science teams in the hopes that she will be able to regain motor function of her hind limbs, but there is a possibility that this is a permanent paralytic injury. In addition to our staff and volunteers, we want to be proactive and transparent with our members and guests regarding the reason Kashifa in not on exhibit and the serious challenges she is facing. "

Source:
Instagram of Zoo Miami (19/03/2021) Login • Instagram
 
JurassicMax said:
I came across this message on the Zoo's instagram.
It seems that lioness Kashifa suffered some sort of injury to her spinal cord, hopefully she can recover. How many lions does Miami Zoo actually have?

"On March 4th, Kashifa, Zoo Miami’s 11 year old lioness, was noted to have suddenly lost the ability to use her hind limbs while on exhibit. The veterinary team was able to anesthetize her and perform baseline diagnostics immediately and did not find an obvious cause for her paraplegia. Within 48 hours, Kashifa underwent an MRI to further evaluate her spine and nerve function, and was determined to have sustained a non-compressive injury to her spinal cord. She is being medically managed by the animal health and animal science teams in the hopes that she will be able to regain motor function of her hind limbs, but there is a possibility that this is a permanent paralytic injury. In addition to our staff and volunteers, we want to be proactive and transparent with our members and guests regarding the reason Kashifa in not on exhibit and the serious challenges she is facing. "

Source:
Instagram of Zoo Miami (19/03/2021) Login • Instagram
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Kashifa has sadly been euthanised.

Zoo Miami lioness euthanized after suffering spinal cord injury

Zoo Miami’s 11-year-old lioness, Kashifa, was euthanized Monday, weeks after the zoo’s Animal Health and Animal Science teams discovered that she had lost mobility in her hind legs.
According to a news release, the discovery was made on March 4 while Kashifa was on exhibit.
The lioness was immobilized and underwent an MRI so that her spine and nerve function could be evaluated.
Veterinarians determined that Kashifa sustained a “non-compressive injury to her spinal cord,” the news release stated.
The lioness underwent nearly three weeks of intensive care, but did not show any signs of improvement.
“After a great deal of consultation and dedicated efforts to provide Kashifa with every possible path to recovery, it was determined that she had sustained a non-recoverable injury and the painfully difficult decision was made to euthanize her today,” the news release stated.
Kashifa was born at the Bronx Zoo in 2010 and gave birth to a litter of four cubs in 2014 at Zoo Miami.
"Not only was she a great mother to her 4 cubs, she also adopted the orphaned cub of her sister and not only raised him successfully, but often gave him special attention as if she realized the trauma he had been through losing his own mother,” the news release stated. “K’wasi has since moved on to Lion Country Safari where he has fathered cubs of his own.”
Zoo Miami employees say Kashifa’s cubs, which have now grown into adults, will be her legacy and they are “profoundly saddened by the loss of this magnificent animal.”
 
Zoofan15 said:
Three North American river otter pups were born February 5:

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article249167980.html

Not only was this the first litter for Zinnia, it was also the first birth of this otter species at the zoo.

Zinnia arrived at Zoo Miami in April 2019 from the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island where she was born. She carried her pups for about two months before giving birth on Feb. 5.

The father of the pups, Edison, arrived at Zoo Miami in October 2016.
Click to expand...

The otter pups have had a neonatal exam:

North American river otter babies receive first official neonatal exam

The pups are in excellent health and have been sexed as two males and a female.
 
I'm trying to find info on the zoo's cheetahs. Are they kept behind the scenes?
 
WhistlingKite24 said:
Seven Orinoco Crocodiles have hatched at Zoo Miami. More are expected to hatch soon. Interesting to note that the female who laid the eggs hatched at the zoo back in 1980: https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/amp...al/community/miami-dade/article251192484.html
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The male was actually hatched in 2004 at Dallas World Aquarium, so it is a true F2 generation! In all the female has laid 45 eggs ...

Plans are to eventually provide hatchling Orinoco crocs for wild release in range state.
 
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