Love must have been in the air at the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton this spring, as there are tons of baby animals running around this summer.
The watusi, alpaca, marmoset and gibbon all have new babies, along with young ducklings that have just hatched from their shells.
They have all quickly become crowd pleasers at the zoo.
“I didn't even realize how many babies there were. There were babies everywhere,” says zoo visitor Megan Sutherland.
Animal care foreman Jamie Carson says this is the first time in the Magnetic Hill Zoo’s history that a gibbon has given birth.
“It's very important to us. It's a species we've been working with here for a number of years but only as display animals,” Carson says. “A few years ago we were able to locate a pair I thought were going to be very good breeding candidates and it worked out perfect.”
Depending on the species, some of the new babies will stay at the zoo. If not, staff will ensure other accredited zoos are ready to welcome the new animals.
“We only breed animals here at the zoo that we know we can responsibly find very good, high-quality homes,” says Carson.
But it's not just the babies that are new to the zoo. Six male meerkats, a collared peccary and eight pink flamingos now call the Magnetic Hill Zoo home.
“Male meerkats, they're extremely active. Everyone loves them. They're very personable so they're one of the animals that there's a good chance you're going to get a good view of them when you come,” says Carson. “Probably the most significant addition that we've had here at least in recent years is our group of eight pink Caribbean flamingos.”
But whatever the species may be, it’s clear every visitor to the zoo has their favourite.
“Me and my son come every week so we see all the animals, but I think my favourite today was the lemurs,” says Megan Sutherland.
The lemurs also have a couple babies in tow, adding to the family of animals at the Magnetic Hill Zoo.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
