THE April school holidays are the perfect time to meet some of Perth Zoo’s newest and cutest arrivals.
Animal-lovers wandering over to the Asian Rainforest may spot the zoo’s furry red panda cub, Tenzing, climbing the giant fig tree in his exhibit.
Perth Zoo is part of a co-ordinated breeding program for the red panda, with this cub being the 19th of the endangered species to be born at the zoo since 1997.
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Nepalese red pandas are found across the Himalayan Mountains and foothills of India, China, Nepal and Bhutan.
There are thought to be less than 10,000 of the species remaining in the wild due to feforestation and illegal poaching, which continue to be significant threats to the remaining populations.
In the African Savannah, a female giraffe born on March 7 will be out exploring her exhibit with mother Kitolo close by and adjusting to the outside world.
Giraffe numbers in the wild have had a dramatic decline of 40 per cent in the last 30 years with less than 80,000 of them roaming the African plains making every giraffe birth in the regional breeding program vitally important.
On the boardwalk by the main lake, a tree kangaroo will be born from mother Kaluli’s pouch.
The Goodfellow tree kangaroo will be the third to be born at Perth Zoo in recent years, following males Haroli and Mian.
The species, native to Papua New Guinea, are so endangered that zoos around the world have been collaborating to co-ordinate breeding with the aim of reversing their decline.
These adorable animals have long tails that help them balance and strong limbs with rubbery soles that allow them to grip branches.
There will be plenty of activities for animal-lovers, who are encouraged to discover more weird and wonderful facts about some of their favourite animals with kids having the opportunity to try their luck at the interactive quiz and go in the running to win prizes.
The Wild Zone will be open every day between 10am-2pm with visitors having the opportunity to match their wits with the Perth Zoo quizmaster in the animal quiz.
At the Junior Wild Vet Hospital, young animal-lovers get the chance to dress up as a zoo vet and can try figuring out what is troubling Leonard the lion or Gina the giraffe, using tools such as a stethoscope, medicine and bandages.
Perth Zoo will be open every day of the Easter long weekend from 9am to 5pm.
More information at www.perthzoo.com.au.
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