Help Name Singapore Zoo's Baby Orangutan!

The legacy of Singapore Zoo’s most iconic resident, Ah Meng, continues to grow with the recent birth of her first great grandson earlier this year. Chomel, Ah Meng’s granddaughter, gave birth to the male Orangutan on 31 Jan at about 4.20am. Wildlife Reserves Singapore (WRS) is inviting Singaporeans to pick his name via an online voting system on Facebook.

Photo credits: Bjorn Olesen / Singapore Zoo

The Zoology team at the Singapore Zoo has shortlisted four names for the newborn and is asking members of the public to choose their favourite. The names are:

1.    Ah Boy: A common term of endearment for many boys at home in Singapore
2.    Bino: Meaning ‘Brave’ in Bahasa Indonesia
3.    Terang: Meaning ‘Bright’ in Malay
4.    Xing Xing: In Chinese, this means both ‘star’ and ‘ape

The contest on the WRS Facebook page is open to everyone who is a fan of the page. Voting will end 31 March 2011 and the name which earns the most number of ‘likes’ on Facebook will be the chosen name for the baby Orangutan.

Little Sun Bear in Singapore

The oldest – and possibly ‘fiercest’ – sun bear at the Singapore Zoo is now the proud grandmother of a yet to be named male baby bear. This 33-year-old matriarch named Garang, which means ‘fierce’ in Malay, and her daughter Judy welcomed the new family member in February.

Photo credits: Wildlife Reserves Singapore

A species ‘vulnerable’ to extinction, Singapore Zoo, is doing its part to ensure the sun bear’s survival through its successful captive breeding programme, which has produced three sun bears since Garang’s arrival as a one-year-old cub in 1978. Mother and daughter duo Judy and Matahari were both born in Singapore Zoo, as was the latest three-month-old addition.

Singapore's Sleepy Sloth

Baby sloths cling to mom for the first nine months of life and this little six month old is still enjoying her free ride. These photos of mother sloth Alba and her daughter, were taken May 2nd by Shirley Ng at the Singapore Zoo. As newborns, baby sloths are only the size of a baseball.

 Sleepy time... yet again...

What's a Tahr?

January saw multiple births of Himalayan Tahr at Singapore Zoo's Night Safari. Four year old Aman, who has been at the park for more than two years, became a proud father four times over. Himalayan Tahr are one of three species (in addition to the Nilgiri Tahr and the Arabian Tahr) of large Asian ungulates related to the wild goat.

 

 

Photos courtesy Wildlife Reserves Singapore

More pics after the jump...

Bad Hair Day at the Singapore Zoo

Now 6 months old, baby Saloma has proven to be a big attraction at the Singapore Zoo. This little Bornean Orangutan female is very expressive and curious but sticks close to mom, Binti.

Photo credit: Christopher Chan 

Photo credit: Pipiyup

Baby Bird Boom in Singapore's Jurong Bird Park

Bird lovers have something to rejoice over as Jurong Bird Park welcomed six chicks hatched over the last few months. The chicks are of six different species, four featured below, namely the Crown Pigeon, Golden Conure, Greater Flamingo and Malay Fish Owl.

Crown Pigeon (4 Months)


Golden Cunure (2 Months)


Greater Flamingo (2.5 Months)


Malay Fish Owl (1 Month)

The Mighty Komodo Dragon... at Its Tiniest

The Singapore Zoo has hatched the first baby Komodo Dragon in it's 34 year history. Here you get a rare glimpse at the world's heaviest lizard at it's very smallest: just hatched! At this size the apex predator of the the Indonesian isles looks pretty harmless but in adulthood wild Komodo Dragons grow up to 10ft long and eat deer or even buffalo! 

Manatee! Rare Captive Birth at Singapore Zoo

A baby manatee or "sea cow" was born recently at the Singapore Zoo and is now on display to the public. This "little" guy may be cuddly looking now, but adult manatees can weigh over 1.5 tons.

Otter You Glad for the Holidays?

These baby small-clawed otters are getting right into the holiday spirit at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo, as they pose for a “family photo.” Not yet ready for primetime visitors, these four little ones were born on October 24 to their proud parents - mom, an eight-year-old female who hails from the Singapore Zoo, and dad, a nine-year-old male originally from Tokushima, Japan.