slides: The Oregon Zoo’s Cutest Animal Babies
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Saturday, October 18, 2014
David Cath, GoLocalPDX Contributor
Cougar Cub. Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo
Babies with whiskers would normally be a cause for alarm, but not at the Oregon Zoo.
Back in early September, the Zoo welcomed the birth of four new African lion cubs. After 5 weeks, three of them - Hasani, Mashavu and Niara - have survived and continue to do well.
In fact, they're even starting to emit their "predator attitude" despite the fact that they're really just balls of fur with legs.
“There’s no denying the cuteness factor right now,” said curator Jennifer Davis, who oversees the zoo’s Africa section.
“They are still just these little fuzzballs, smaller even than some housecats. But their paws are enormous, and they’re already starting to show some of that apex predator attitude."
In honor of these cutie McCute-sters, take a look at the Zoo's newest generation of baby animals.
Be careful, you may want to go out and kiss a River Otter on the nose after seeing this.
Home Page Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo / photo by Michael Durham.
Related Slideshow: Meet The Oregon Zoo’s Newest Generation Of Babies
Ever wondered what a baby hedgehog is called? Take a guess and find out below!
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African Lion Cubs
They look like fuzzy, spotted plush toys, so cute you’d like to hold them close and cuddle.
But at just 6 weeks old, three African lion cubs born at the Oregon Zoo last month are already practicing the skills that will make them among the most fearsome predators on the planet.
Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo / Michael Durham.
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Humboldt Penguin Chicks
In March, three new chicks joined the Oregon Zoo’s Humboldt penguin colony. The birds have grown a lot since then.
They are now nearly as tall as the adult Humboldts, but easy to tell apart by their plumage: They are grayish-brown all over and won’t develop the distinctive black-and-white tuxedo markings for a couple more years.
Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo
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California Condor Chicks
On March 18, the first California condor chick of the season hatched at the Oregon Zoo's Jonsson Center for WildlifeConservation. The chick chipped its way out of its shell while still inside an incubator.
The California condor was one of the original animals included on the 1973 Endangered Species Act and is classified as critically endangered. In 1982,only 22 individuals remained in the wild and by 1987, the last condors weretaken into captivity in an attempt to save the species.
Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo
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Ziggy the River Otter
Tilly, a North American river otter at the Oregon Zoo, gave birth to her second pup last November: Zigzag — or Ziggy for short — named after the 12-mile-long Sandy River tributary that flows down Mount Hood through Zigzag Canyon.
Because of habitat destruction and water pollution, river otters are considered rare outside the region, but are frequently observed in Pacific Northwest waterways.
Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo
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Juno the Sea Otter
Juno, who arrived at the zoo May 13, was found orphaned on a California beach in January, and soon made her way to The Oregon Zoo where she has joined two geriatric otters, Thelma and Eddie.
No word on whether Juno thinks Thelma and Eddie's house smells funny.
Wild sea otters have not established colonies off the Oregon coast since 1907, though a few individuals have been sighted, most recently in Depoe Bay in 2009.
Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo
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Cougar Cubs
In January, the zoo served as a temporary stop for three orphaned cougar cubs, until they were big enough to travel to a new permanent home in North Carolina.
Cougars — also known as mountain lions, pumas and (in Florida) panthers — live mostly in the western United States and Canada.
Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo
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American Black Bear Cubs
Surprisingly, loggers saved a species. At least, that's the case for the Zoo's three American black bear cubs who were found inside a log with no mother bear in sight.
The cubs were later taken to the Oregon Zoo, then transfered to a private nonprofit in Austin, Texas.
Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo
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Hedgehog Hoglets
What’s cuter than a baby hedgehog? How about five baby hedgehogs? Hakuna Matata, an African pygmy hedgehog at the Oregon Zoo, gave birth to a litter of five on July 7.
Their quills are actually modified hairs, which fall out and grow back throughout their lives.
Photo Credit: Oregon Zoo
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