we got em', flamingo chicks!

i was told by a keeper on thursday that two of the ten ( i think) eggs had, i forget the term he used, pinned/pinged? (the day before) which means they had just broken the shell in preparation to emerge from the egg. from then, it should be about two days before the chick will fully hatch. that put babies for friday. the flamingos were my first stop today, as i must see babies! and yippee! i got to see one for a bit before the parent say down to cover it. this one i saw well is the one on the front nest, but there is another one the back nest, that i caught a glimpse of on the way out. ... these are the first baby flamingos since 2003 (i believe), and first i've ever seen! so pretty exciting! welcome precious cuties! ... check the photosite (link at left) for more pix, including updated photos of them at five days and another new baby!

new babies on the island!

three twelve week old male penguin chicks, who were hatched on penguin island, have finished socialization and fish school. last week they took their big boy march along the parade route in their honor, that led them back to the island! pictured are each one of the chicks a week later. the one with the red band is named floyd, the black banded will be named by an auction winner, and the one with the grey band will be named by a zoo member (from a contest). ... to see photos and some video clips of the parade, please visit my photosite and youtube channel (links in the left column on this page).

capy happy!

two year old capybara sisters (ria and kyme) born at the san diego zoo are now living at the puente! after losing our lottie last year, the puente has been missing cute little capy faces. the girls seem to be adjusting well and will at some point be introduced to the anteater couple who also make the puente field their home. i hope it all works out, it will be a joy to watch them all out together. i especially can't wait til the sisters have access to the field AND the pond, as i've seen capy's swimming in video's and would love to see them enjoying the pond. will be interesting to see what the swan's have to say about that! ... welcome sisters!

happy birthday goober!

today was goober's 16th birthday! my friend nica and i went to the zoo today to wish him a happy day! goober was happy to see us and loved our song for him! check out his big smile! he was saying "thank you for the birthday wishes! i am the goober-licious!" love ya sweet goob! ... when we arrived for our second of three rounds of goob bday greetings, the zoo camp gal brought over a card the campers made for goober and the keeper was putting it on display!

happy belated birthday! sukari!

african lion sukari recently had her first birthday as a resident of the sfzoo. she turned eight years old on june 23rd. the big cat keeper enjoys celebrating the cats birthdays, so special treats were given to her and her companion tunya (and all the other cats too!) last saturday. her birthday came during a time when she and tunya were separated due to her new birth control implant needing to take effect, so her celebration came a bit after (so they could enjoy it together), but still with a whole lot of fun! ... you can see more pix from the bash on the photosite > http://gooberssfzoofriends.shutterfly.com/2610

july birthdays

sorry for the delay to anyone who is following the blog closely. the month of july was the birth month for many of our zoo friends. luckily with the cooperation of her keeper, sumatran tiger leanne's seventh birthday was celebrated! you can see photos from all the fun on the photosite (link at left). before leanne's party i went by and wished cobby a happy birthday! and when i went to the family farm they had a birthday sign up for my fav little girl on the farm, ginger. ... happy belated birthday shout-outs to, those whose birthdays as far as i know, went publicly (and even i missed some) unrecognized, mishaki, bwang, slash, pokemon, busby and oscar jonesy! ... i personally think its a shame that with reaching the milestone 55 years old and having the moniker of oldest male chimpanzee in captivity in north america, his birthday went unrecognized. to me the residents are the zoo. without them there would not be one. plain and simple. they should be celebrated.