Spring means new babies to care for at Virginia Zoological Park.
Every year, the zoo animals welcome new offspring to the world. This year, the Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk has welcomed a few new babies to the world. A baby bongo and zebra have been welcomed in the year of 2018.
On March 5, the Zoological Park welcomed the baby zebra “Athena.” Baby Athena was birthed from the 16-year-old Hartmann’s mountain zebra Abby. Athena weighed 80 pounds and stood three feet tall at birth. The zoo gave her the name Athena based on the tradition of choosing a name that began with the first initial of their mother’s name. In Athena’s case it was the letter “A” from her mom Abby.
Don’t panic if you don’t get to see Athena and her mom Abby. They are put behind the scenes when the weather is cooler. However, as the weather warms up, they will be making an appearance out for the public to see.
While the baby fever just began to simmer down, the zoo also welcomed a baby Bongo on March 23. The baby bongo was born male and weighed 50 pounds at birth. The baby bongo was welcomed into this world by his mother, Betty the Bongo. He is the newest addition to the family. The bongo clan also celebrated a birth earlier this year on Dec. 25, Joy the Bongo.
Betty the Bongo and her new baby are available for the public to see. When the baby bongo was born, the zoo did a poll to determine the new baby bongo’s name. The options for the baby bongo were Blarney, Bugs, Buster or Baxter. Once the votes were tallied, it was announced on March 27 that the baby Bongo’s name is and will be Baxter.
The Virginia Zoological Park is in full bloom, especially with the new additions that the Zoo has to offer. The Virginia Zoological Park is located at 3500 Granby St, Norfolk, VA 23504. The zoo is open every day of the week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. To keep up with current events happening at Virginia Zoological Park or just animals in general, visit virginiazoo.org.
Caimaya Ashton
clashton@vwu.edu
