Gidget, Davids and joeys create an exotic Mother’s Day menagerie
This Mother’s Day, visit the BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo or the Global Wildlife Center. Observing and interacting with animals is a fun way to spend the day and gain an appreciation of how all species care for their young.
Here are fun facts about some of the exotic animals Baton Rougeans are lucky enough to view locally:
• Humans are not the only species to soothe their babies with song. Mama llamas hum to their babies during times of stress. If they detect a threat, llama moms spit to ward off any danger.
• A mother zebra secludes her baby from the herd for the first few hours after birth, so she and the baby have time to memorize each other’s stripe patterns.
• Mother Cape Elands (a big South African antelope) nurse any baby in the herd, so calves have a better chance for survival if something happens to their biological mothers.
• Female donkeys and Scimitar horned oryx always shield their babies from any perceived threat—which makes it nearly impossible to get photos even in captivity.
• While some human mothers report their pregnancies seem to last forever, female kangaroos’ actually do. They are always pregnant. Kangaroo moms can take care of three joeys all from different pregnancies. By the time the oldest joey leaves the comforts of her pouch, the middle joey will have just crawled in, and the youngest joey will still be an embryo.
• Different rhino species employ different parenting techniques. You can tell the difference between black and white rhinos by where they allow their babies to walk. (Despite their names, the species are not distinguishable by color.) If the baby runs in front of the mother, they are the white rhino species. If the baby runs behind the mother, they are the black rhino species.
Besides the great springtime weather and seasonal foliage, May provides zoo and wildlife center visitors with a wonderful bevy of babies to watch.
New arrivals at the Global Wildlife Center in Robert, La., include:
• One baby giraffe, named Gidget
• Three baby Cape Eland (cup-stealers in training)
• Four baby zebras
• Five rhea nests filled with eggs due to hatch any day
• Six baby Scimitar horned oryx (large Arabian antelope)
• 22 Pere David deer and
• Too many baby Indian, white-spotted Axis deer to count.
The Baton Rouge Zoo recently welcomed:
• Twin Golden Lion Tamarin monkeys
• A colorful king vulture
• A zebra and
• Stork eggs due to hatch any day.
On March 10, the zoo offers a variety of activities for human mothers and their children. The Wildlife Safari Amphitheatre is filled with mom-and-me themed programs throughout the day and features an elephant show, otter encounter, family conservation information, bean bag toss and stations to make a crafts and cards for moms.
For more information, visit brzoo.org or globalwildlife.com.
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