Baby boom at Whipsnade Zoo

The UK’s largest Zoo has welcomed a whole host of new babies this spring including northern rockhopper penguin chicks, Père David deer and Przewalski's foals.

A baby boom at Whipsnade Zoo has keepers at the conservation zoo celebrating – as the births include several Extinct in the Wild and Endangered species.  

Head of Zoological Operations Matt Webb explains the new births are incredibly important not just for the Zoo but globally.  “Zookeepers will be kept busy this spring with the birth of 13 Extinct in the Wild Père David fawns, two Endangered Przewalski's foals, as well as our newly hatched tiny Northern rockhopper penguin chicks which are also Endangered in the wild.

“These births are important victories for the European Endangered Species Program (EEP), as we work to ensure these animals, which face a myriad of threats in the wild, have a strong and genetically varied population at conservations zoos like Whipsnade.”  

Whipsnade Zoo is working hard to help recover the Père David deer population, which is native to China, after being classified as Extinct in the Wild in 2008 on the IUCN Red list. The 13 bambi-esque fawns can be spotted grazing in their large sprawling home throughout the Passage through Asia. 

Visitors to Whipsnade Zoo will be able to see a growing herd of Przewalski's horses sharing a vast enclosure with the deer. The pointy eared, cream-coloured Przewalski's foal, which hasn’t yet been named, joins baby boy Luujin at Whipsnade Zoo. The female foal is the first shared offspring for Mum Shargahan and Dad Hulaugu.  

Meanwhile Bird Keeper Claire McSweeney and her team are celebrating the pitter patter of tiny feet with the hatching of two Northern rockhopper penguin chicks. The first-time penguin parents are being very protective and keeping a close eye on their new chicks, who will remain in their nests for the next month. 

The flightless birds, which have striking bright red eyes and develop distinctive yellow head plumage when they reach maturity, are one of the smallest penguins in the world. They weighed in at a tiny 81g when they first hatched, less than a deck of cards. 

Visitors can catch a glimpse of the newly hatched rockhopper penguin chicks, the baby deer and new foals, as well as the 10,000 other animals at Whipsnade Zoo this May - find out more about the conservation zoo’s vital work protecting species at www.whipsnadezoo.org  

All photos from ZSL Whipsnade Zoo.