The Staten Island Zoo Announces 16 Births

The Staten Island Zoo is celebrating a very fertile Spring season with 16 newborns and as many as 30 more on the way.

Highlighting the list are three groundhogs - two females and one male - kits of the Zoo's weather prognosticator, Charles G. Hogg: Chuck, for short. The pups were born on the first day of Spring, and are active and thriving at the Zoo's nursery, weighing in at about one pound each.

Recently hatched - April 9 and 10 - are two emu chicks, the largest bird native to Australia and the second-largest bird in the world by height. Flightless like their parents, the emu chicks sport longitudinal stripes, camouflage when in the wild. They can grow to about six feet in height. They can be seen near the otter exhibit.

The Zoo's sheep herd, located at the Children's Center, has producedseven lambs, with four mothers doing the heavy lifting. Mainly black in color, the month-old lambs are active and inquisitive, yet under the watchful eyes of the rest of the herd.

With about 30 eggs still incubating from multiple species, two new Swinhoe Pheasants hatched April 20 and are growing in the controlled environment of the Zoo's nursery. This species of pheasant is native to Taiwan.

Three Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnakes have been born in the Zoo's Reptile Wing, where they are now in the care of the Zoo's skilled herpetology staff. . Most common in Florida, they are venomous, but usually not life-threatening. While three have been live born, reptile keepers believe that one or perhaps two more may still emerge. Currently about four inches long, these snakes can grow as long as one-and-a-half feet.

All of these newborns are on exhibit currently. The Zoo plans to hold a "baby shower" of sorts on Saturday, June 1, from noon to 3 pm, to introduce them to the public.