Celebrity yak brings joy to zoo
Published 13 January, 2008, 07:58
A local zoo in the Penza region is welcoming two new arrivals this winter. A baby yak is being bottle-fed by zoo workers and has become a popular attraction. Also in the spotlight is a young gibbon who is getting used to his new surroundings.
The yak, named Kiruysha, was born one morning in an outdoor cage in the middle of winter.
Had he stayed in the snow for another hour, he would have frozen to death. Luckily zoo workers discovered him at feeding time.
Now Kiruysha is a zoo celebrity. He is the yak to be born at the zoo in 27 years.
The zoo workers wanted to put him back in the cage with his mother, but it was too cold, and they weren’t sure if she’d accept him.
On the other side of the zoo another baby remains practically glued to its mother.
Penza is the only zoo in Russia with plain-coloured gibbons.
The monkey’s mother, Gabi, was found clinging to life by the zoo's director at an animal market.
Going against regulations, the zoo purchased the illegal animal. Staff said they couldn’t leave it there to die.
Daddy monkey arrived a few months later, donated by its owner.
Both mother and father were in bad condition when they arried. It took months to nurse them back to health. Now they have just had their first baby.
Unlike most mammals, you can’t tell the sex of gibbons until they are a few years old. So, to be on the safe side, this one was named Bonny.
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