Whoa, Baby! SoCal Zoos, Farms Show Off New Babies
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Is it El Niño and all the extra rain? Whatever the reason may be, Southern California has been experiencing a bit of a baby boom at some area zoos and farms.
Not one, not two, but three giraffes have been born in Southern California recently, the latest at the Santa Barbara Zoo last weekend. The new big baby, who has been named Chad, weighs 191 pounds and is over 6 feet tall, and zoo officials say visitors will get a chance to see him Saturday.
But Chad's not the only new tall baby in town. The Living Desert zoo in Palm Desert welcomed its own baby giraffe at the end of January.
However, the 2-month-old calf, who was recently given the name Twiga, is not the only baby at the Living Desert at the moment – the zoo says they've had six animal births in March alone. Some of the newest Living Desert residents include three warthog piglets, an African-crested porcupine, a Bighorn sheep lamb and an endangered Cuvier's gazelle -- the first to be born at the zoo since 2011.
A baby giraffe was also born at the Los Angeles Zoo, but back in October – so, knowing how fast babies grow up, the male calf probably looks full grown by now. But the L.A. Zoo still has its share of babies – since the new year, two Chacoan peccary piglets and a black duiker – an animal resembling a tailless deer – have been born. Plus, two Western gray kangaroo joeys born last June have finally emerged from their mother's pouches and can now be seen exploring their new habitat, according to LA Zoo officials.
Underwood Family Farms in Camarillo announced a string of baby births all month long, starting with the birth of five kid goats on March 1 and 2, a cow calf on March 4, and nine piglets on March 5, and ducklings that hatched about three weeks ago, the farm's Suzannah Underwood said. These babies are all already on display with their mothers. A litter of guinea pigs were born on March 26 and are expected to be available for petting in the farm's petting corral as soon as this weekend.
No to be outdone, the Aquarium of the Pacific also reported a variety of baby creatures, including seahorses, a Lorikeet and a shark eggs that visitors can see.
