For the first time in our 120-year history, we’re proud to announce the birth of an endangered rhino calf. The calf, an Indian rhino believed to be a male, was born on Friday, August 30, to first-time mom, Hellary.
Bambio’s little one is cutting teeth—four of them! She’s gained 2.5 pounds since birth. Her starting weight was 3.8 pounds and now, she tips the scale at 6.3 pounds.
Here she is—our female giraffe calf! Born on Tuesday, April 16 at 8:45 a.m. Stood for the first time at 9 a.m. Towers at about six feet tall and first tipped the scale at 152 pounds. Stay tuned for our naming contest. It kicks off this Friday on Facebook.
Thank you all so much for your assistance in locating Cayenne, a green winged macaw. We are happy to say that Cayenne is safe and sound back at the Zoo! She's happy to be back home with her sister Cali. Thank you again for your support.
She’s been named! Meet Penelope, our newborn female reticulated giraffe calf, who now stands at about six feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds. Congratulations to 31-year-old Christina Musgraves of Bellevue, Nebraska, who entered the name into our contest!
Happy Birthday, Daisy! At 25 years of age, this reticulated giraffe is a proud mother of two—16-year-old Sam and 17-year-old Dottie—and a wonderful grandmother to three—three-year-old LoLo, 10-month-old Malcolm and three-month-old Penelope.
#ZooMoreGood
Zoo neighbors, we need your assistance! We are looking for Cayenne, a green winged macaw. She’s likely sitting in a tree south of the Zoo, possibly as far as Bellevue. If seen, call the Zoo at 402-676-2680. Please do not try to pick her up, Zoo staff will come bring her home.
And then there were three!
Lolly, an 11-year-old African elephant, welcomed a male calf at 2:20 a.m. this morning. Both Lolly and her calf are doing well.
MORE:
The second calf has arrived! Claire, a 13-year-old African elephant, gave birth to a male calf at 9:08 p.m. yesterday, January 30, 2022. The Elephant Family Quarters will remain closed for staff to observe bonding, maternal behaviors and nursing of the calf.
Please join us in wishing Malcom the giraffe a happy first birthday! He celebrated this special milestone with his very own keeper-made birthday “cake.” He was even generous enough to share it with the rest of the herd.
Here they come! Fifteen gentoo penguins, five males and 10 females, that arrived from the
@KansasCityZoo
made their debut yesterday and are making quite the splash in our Antarctic penguin habitat.
#PenguinAwarenessDay
Happy New Year to us! Kiki, an 18-year-old African elephant, gave birth to her calf at 11:33 a.m. today. The calf is the first elephant born at the Zoo. Please note: The Elephant Family Quarters will be closed at this time:
If you have branches that were downed by this morning's storm, consider donating them to the Zoo! Call (402) 738-6947 or email browse
@omahazoo
.com. Did you know the Zoo uses more than 200 tons of fresh, leafy branches (also known as “browse”) each year to feed our animals?
Gemini and Coco’s pups have arrived! Gemini’s pup was born on June 12 and Coco’s pup was born on June 18. The pups and their mothers are currently on display at the Owen Sea Lion Pavilion with their father, Chino.
The Elephant Family Quarters will be closed to allow Lolly and her calf time to bond. In the meantime, here’s a lil’ sneak peek!
By the way Omaha, voting ends Monday at 11 a.m. Lets do it:
First-time mom, seven-year-old Layla, gave birth to a female this past Tuesday! Visit the Giraffe Herd Rooms to submit a name starting tomorrow, December 1 - Friday, December 8. The official winner will be announced online on Wednesday, December 13.
1️⃣ week old today! And we've discovered our trunk. Though she is very clumsy with it, this little girl here has been using it to explore her environment.
#KikisCalf
The elephant in the room 🐘❤️
We know you’re super excited to see the calf, so thanks for hanging in there! But just a friendly reminder:
The Elephant Family Quarters is currently closed to allow our animal care staff time to observe bonding, maternal behaviors and nursing.
Today is an elephant-astic day for Omaha. Happy FIRST birthday, Eugenia! MORE:
Stay tuned! Official birthday details for her and Sonny will be announced on Friday, January 20.
If you were out on the prowl today, we wanted to make you aware of some information:
At about 3:40 PM today, Zoo officials were alerted of a cheetah outside of its primary enclosure, but behind the public barrier, in the Scott African Grasslands.
MORE:
Are you an Omaha Metro Area resident with fallen branches from the storm this weekend? If so, please contact our Browse Department at (402) 738-6947 or browse
@OmahaZoo
.com. They make some pretty tasty treats for our animals, like our elephants here.
“I got you… Mom!" 😜 - a rambunctious Sonny with mom, Claire, over the weekend
We were able to get a weight on little man! Later in the day on Friday, Sonny tipped the scale at 202 pounds—quite the big boy. Eugenia is now up to 195 pounds.
📸: Scottie Tuggle, 🐘keeper
We’re going to miss the hello snorts and mud baths from "the best boy ever" at the Asian Highlands. Jontu, our 15-year-old greater one-horned rhino, passed on March 28 from complications related to a gastrointestinal illness. He arrived in May 2011 and was visited by millions.
Brian, a six-year-old male Indian rhino from Ohio's
@ColumbusZoo
, has officially "crashed" the party in the Asian Highlands.
His arrival marks an exciting step forward for the Zoo's ongoing rhino conservation efforts:
📷: Amanda Carberry
Due to the impending snow and extremely cold temperatures that have been forecasted, the Zoo will be closed this Thursday, Dec. 22. At this time, the Zoo will reopen at noon on Friday, Dec. 23. Until then, we’ll be catching snowflakes… at least some of us anyhow! Stay safe!
All of the snow in the world couldn’t cancel this birthday party. Happy 2nd Birthday, Kgosi! (📸: Lindsay Jaquier, senior keeper - great apes/sea lions)
Brotherly love! Three-year-old Kgosi is being the best of buds with his half-sister Zuri, who is 9 months old. This is first time in history the Zoo has had two infant gorillas being raised by their mothers.
📹: Kay Klatt, capital projects manager
Kiki's calf continues to explore her training area! She's very interested in small items she can move, like firehose cubes. Her natural curiosity and mom's trust in her keepers has her freely walking on the scale, too. Thanks Scales, Sales & Service &
@ricelake
for the donation!
It’s with a heavy heart that we announce the loss of Daisy, one of our female reticulated giraffes. At 26 years, 9 months and 11 days old, she was the oldest giraffe to ever life at the Zoo.
Giraffe calves are known to grow up to an inch a day in their first week and here she is. Chin up, standing tall, looking up to mom just as she should! 😊 By the way, there’s still time to help name Layla’s calf. Stop by the Giraffe Herd Rooms through Friday, December 8 to enter!
We were supposed to reopen at noon today, but with the freezing temperatures, we’re taking extra precautions and will remain closed today, December 23.
The Zoo will reopen tomorrow, December 24, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. and closed again on Christmas Day.
Happy Holidays to you!
We’re ready to start introducing our animals inside the Lied Jungle to life with visitors again. This week, we’d like your help in getting them acclimated. For more information on hours:
Claire's calf officially has a name! Everyone, meet Sonny. Sonny received his name from a donor who won the naming rights at the Zoo’s fundraiser, Zoofari, in 2021. He has yet to hop on the scale for us to get a weight, but otherwise, he and mom and doing well.
❄️ With some encouragement from mom, Rose, Victoria took her first steps into their outdoor habitat today and explored every inch, from head to snow. ❄️ MORE:
One month of Hope!
You “Betty” believe it. Hope continues to spend time with 12-year-old Betty Francis daily. Jawara, Hope’s 14-year-old father, is showing an appropriate level of interest, too. While they don’t share the same space, they find ways to interact with one another.
Some of us will enjoy being outdoors today. As for the rest of us, it’s best to stay inside. The Zoo will be CLOSED TODAY due to the weather conditions.
In case you haven’t “herd,” around this time next year, we’re expecting a third African elephant calf. Now Lolly, who is about 10 to 11 years old, is pregnant! Until then, we'll continue to share all things Eugenia and Sonny.
Two acrylic panels arrived for installation in Sea Lion Shores today! The largest, the underwater sea cave viewing window, weighs 17,000 lbs. and measures 43 ft. 6 in. wide X 9 ft. 11 in. tall. The sea cave will be the largest underwater viewing area for sea lions in the U.S.
Kennedi and Valens, born on May 22, are now climbing among the crags of their outdoor habitat in the Asian Highlands with mom, Rosemary. Named by donors at Zoofari, Kennedi, the female, has a family name, and Valens, the male's name, is Greek and means "strong and victorious."
Kiki's calf is visibly more coordinated and mobile, has done some nursing and like everyone else, enjoys a good snooze. Saturday night alone, the calf slept a lot, off and on from 6 p.m. – 5:30 a.m. Jayei, our matriarch, has been a big help along the way:
Happy 1st Birthday, Arthur!
To celebrate, he and his herdmates cooled off in the veldt with large ice cakes, frozen with their favorite treats inside: carrots, apple, lettuce and grain.
📹: Miranda Weldon, hoofstock keeper (also the cakemaker 👍)
Having only arrived last Wednesday, Callee decided to give his outdoor exhibit a try for the first time yesterday morning! His team of keepers gave him access to see if he was ready to explore the area. He chose do to so for about an hour. (📸: Bria Bequette, elephant keeper)
We’re deeply saddened to announce the passing of Opal the African penguin. At 41 years of age, she was the longest-living female African penguin in the North American population. MORE:
It was a fun morning at the Elephant Family Quarters. Thanks for coming out to celebrate, Omaha!
🎉 Happy first birthday to Eugenia and Sonny! 🎉
#OmahaZooBirthdays
Sam, we miss you already! Our 17-year-old male - born in Omaha on July 23, 2001 - had a history of degenerative joint disease. With the disease continuing to progress, the difficult decision was made to euthanize him:
Siamangs Stewey and Joey are first-time parents! Their youngster, a male, is the first siamang to be born at our Zoo. See mom, dad and baby in the indoor habitat of Hubbard Orangutan Forest.
Meet our newest resident, Tofu, a two-year-old red panda from the
@detroitzoo
! She'll be moving to the Asian Highlands once construction is complete but for now, stop she'll be out and about in the Cat Complex.
Thank you for being so good to us, Omaha! After a browse-filled weekend of drop offs—so, so grateful to you all—we’re here to report that we are officially at capacity for donations. Our animals currently have more than they can munch on before the nutritiousness wilts away.
Snow leopards Rosemary and Pasha are the parents of two cubs, one male and one female, born on May 22. This morning, they were introduced to media for the first time:
Today, we thought you might like to come “face to face” with Fluke, our six-month-old sea lion pup.
A virtual learning video and activity from our Education Department is now available on our website:
📸: Amanda Smith, sea lions
Happy Birthday, Lemmy! This otter-ly adorable African spotted-necked otter turned four just recently. Our Lied Jungle® keepers celebrated with enrichment all around. (📸: Dane Jorgensen, lead keeper - Lied Jungle®)
Dwarf mongooses are the smallest carnivores in Africa. How small can they actually be, lookout for this pair: our dwarf mongoose pups. Born May 7, these two (their genders are unknown at this time) can be see roughhousing in the Namib section of the Desert Dome.