HOUSTON – The Houston Zoo has added new faces and brand-new species of animals to its family this summer.
Here’s what you can expect to see:
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Orangutan Taki
Takai arrived at the Houston Zoo in April from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo. The 15-year-old male orangutan will hopefully be a good match for 11-year-old female, Aurora, according to the zoo.
Guests can possibly see Taki with Aurora, Cheyenne, or Kelly once relationships have been established, the zoo stated.
Lemurs
Two crowned lemurs arrived to the Zoo’s Wortham World of Primates lemur island from Oakland Zoo and Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo on May 26.
Tashi, is a 22-year-old female with grey fur, and Tsingy (pronounced Zingy) is a five-year-old male with red-brown fur. Based on the pair’s age their relationship is purely platonic, according to the zoo.
Jaguar
Vida, a 2-year-old female jaguar, also arrived in May from Memphis Zoological Garden & Aquarium. Vida is expected to be paired with 8-year-old male jaguar Tesoro.
The zoo stated that it is giving Vida a chance to get comfortable with her new home before being seen by visitors in South America’s Pantanal.
Giraffe
On May 10, Masai giraffe Joshua moved to Lehigh Valley Zoo in Pennsylvania, according to a release. That same day, the Zoo welcomed Zawadi from Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The nearly 5-year-old male Masai giraffe was quarantined behind the scenes in the giraffe barn for a few weeks and will be introduced to the rest of the herd. When he joins the herd, it may take Zawadi some time to get used to the Giraffe Feeding Platform, but the giraffe care team is hopeful he will soon be an eager participant in the popular program.
Blue Duiker
A pair of blue duikers Vlad and Seana (pronounced Shawna) have been added to the pygmy hippo exhibit, according to a release. The duo spent a few weeks getting comfortable in their new home before being introduced to pygmy hippo Silas. The threesome gets along well and can be seen sharing the habitat. Blue duiker is a small antelope found in central, southern and eastern Africa and is the smallest species of duiker. The tiny mammals are around one foot tall and can currently be found hiding in the grasses or getting to know their bongo neighbors.
Which animal are you excited to see?