The maternity ward has been busy, busy, busy over at the Houston Zoo. A California sea lion pup was born to Cali, but we have to hold off on naming the little tyke until its gender is determined. We also saw twin red river hogs born to Luna, a quartet of white blotched river stingrays in the aquarium department, and a pair of recently-hatched Palawan peacock-pheasant chicks. And those scary vipers? Not so scary when you see how tiny the African bush vipers actually are. Welcome to H-Town, little guys.
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This California sea lion pup was born in June to first-time mom Cali. -
We don’t yet know if this California sea lion pup is a boy or a girl. -
This is the second sea lion pup to be born at the Houston Zoo in the past year. Mom Cali’s sister, Kamia, gave birth to TJ last summer. -
The Houston Zoo’s sea lions eat 23,850 pounds of responsibly-caught, sustainable fish each year. -
Sustainable seafood is either responsibly wild-daught or farm-raised, which keeps marine wildlife in balanced numbers. -
The Houston Zoo believes that using sustainable seafood is one of the best ways to protect the health of our oceans. -
Ten African bush vipers were born in June inside the Houston Zoo’s Reptile and Amphibian House. -
African bush vipers are born live instead of hatched from eggs like other snakes. -
When born, baby African bush vipers way just two grams. -
When they grow up, these baby African bush vipers will be between 18 and 24 inches in length. -
In the wild, baby African bush vipers can be found in the tropical rainforests of western and central Africa. -
First-time-mom Luna gave birth to two red river hogs in June. -
This is the first litter of red river hogs that we’ve seen since they were brought to Texas in 2015 to be part of the Gorillas of the African Forest habitat. -
The Houston Zoo is the only zoo where visitors will find gorillas and red river hogs hanging out together. -
In the wild, gorillas and red river hogs get along just fine sharing the same forest lands in Africa. -
These little red river hoglets don’t yet have a name. -
These two red river hoglets hang out in the habitat with their mom, Luna, and two other adult hogs: Neptune and Vidalia. -
Baby red river hogs -
Baby red river hogs -
Five white blotched river stingrays were born in the Houston Zoo’s aquarium department in June. -
When white blotched river stingrays are born, they are left on their own but find nourishment from a yolk sac that provides nutrients. -
When white blotched river stingrays grow up, they will eat worms and shrimp. -
The unique markings of the white blotched river stingrays helps them hide along rocky bottom riverbeds. -
In the wild, white blotched river stingrays can be found in the Amazon River Basin of South America. -
Just like snowflakes and our fingerprints, the markings of every white blotched river stingray are unique. -
Two Palawan peacock-pheasant chicks were recently hatched at the Houston Zoo’s Birds of the Wild habitat. -
Palawan peacock-pheasant chicks are a threatened species and can only be found on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. -
Mommy Palawan peacock-pheasants will lay two eggs that hatch after about 18 to 20 days. -
Palawan peacock-pheasant chicks have been threatened by the palm oil industry, though we can help by purchasing products made with sustainable palm oil.
