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TAMPA, Fla. – ZooTampa at Lowry Park welcomed several newborn animals this year, including a rescued manatee’s calf and a critically endangered Eastern bongo.
ZooTampa animal conservation efforts
What we know:
ZooTampa at Lowry Park say they welcomed a female manatee calf named Beatrix, marking the park’s first manatee birth in more than 10 years. Her mother, who remains in critical condition following a watercraft injury in the Manatee River, is bonding well with the newborn while animal care staff monitor both closely.
The facility also celebrated the birth of Liberty, a female Eastern bongo calf born on July 3 weighing 38 pounds and standing two feet tall. The zoo says this birth marks the seventh Eastern bongo delivered at the zoo over five years for a species with fewer than 100 individuals remaining in the wild because of habitat loss and poaching.
Additional zoo births this year
By the numbers:
The park’s current baby boom includes multiple new animals born across several species:
1 female manatee calf3 Eastern bongo calves2 southern white rhinos2 impalas2 nyalas4 Bali mynah chicks3 African spoonbill chicks6 green-naped lorikeet chicks Wildlife protection and breeding
What they’re saying:
“The births of these species, many of which are listed as critically endangered, endangered or threatened, highlight the Zoo’s ongoing conservation efforts and commitment to saving species,” ZooTampa said in a statement.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from a press release provided by ZooTampa at Lowry Park.