Photo: Zoo New England
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Zoo of New England welcomed some new, adorable, additions to their habitats.
The arrival of two scaly-sided merganser ducklings at Franklin Park Zoo and a prehensile-tailed porcupette at Stone Zoo is bringing both guests and staff alike great joy.
Two little ducklings hatched on April 28 and May 1 at Franklin Park Zoo.
"Scaly-sided mergansers are an endangered species, native to southern Russia and northern China, Korea, and Japan. As endangered birds, every hatch is important and plays a role in the preservation of the species, which is why this duckling duo is being hand-reared by their dedicated animal care team in Franklin Park Zoo’s brooder barn until they’re about 12-14 weeks old," the Zoo of New England reported.
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Dr. Brianne Phillips, Zoo New England Associate Veterinarian, said “Both of the little ones appear healthy. They each weigh in at roughly a quarter of a pound, and are bright, alert, active, and eating well — which is all very encouraging and exciting for this rare species.”
At Stone Zoo, the prehensile-tailed porcupette was born May 23.
The porcupette is nursing regularly from mom and gaining weight daily, which is great to see. This species is precocial and we expect the baby to be eating on its own in a month,” says Pete Costello, Stone Zoo Assistant Curator. “While it’s normal for a porcupine mom to be away from the baby with the exception of nursing, Prickles is spending more time near this baby than with her previous birth.”
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