5 new baby animals you can visit at the Denver Zoo

DENVER – Why sit in front of your computer as you wait for April the giraffe to give birth, when you can head out to the Denver Zoo and see some of the babies out and about?

Five newborns have been introduced to the zoo as recently as last month.

Red Panda cubs Lali and Masu

Two incredibly cute red panda cubs were born at the Denver Zoo last June but didn’t get to join the red panda exhibit until after July 8.

The red panda cubs were named Lali and Masu and despite having a rough start during the first weeks of life, both are now doing well on their own.

Red pandas are native to Asia and are most commonly found in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. Like giant pandas, red pandas eat large amounts of bamboo daily. 

Four African lion cubs

The Denver Zoo welcomed four new lion cubs on July 13 of last year from the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, Kan.

The cubs -- Kito, Bahati, Usiki and Jasiri -- can be seen in the Benson Predator Ridge. The cubs are not small, they each weigh more than 200 pounds.

The cubs were moved because their father was starting to push them out.

"[That's] a natural occurrence that is common in prides as males start to reach sexual maturity," zoo officials explained. "The lion cubs are not currently recommended to breed and will be housed separately from the Zoo's other pride."

The Denver Zoo is currently home to four other lions: adult females Neliah and Sabi, male cub Kalu and female cub Kamara.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service lists lions as a threatened species. Increasing human populations in Africa are reducing and fragmenting wild lions’ available territory and prey.

Cody, the Grevy’s Zebra

A new baby zebra was born in December of last year at the Denver Zoo.

The male foal was named Cody and was born in the early hours of Saturday, Dec. 3.

At the time of its birth, Zoo officials said the Grevy’s zebra was thriving and ran very well for a zebra that was less than a week old.

This is the second birth for the 16-year-old Farasi at Denver Zoo, after male foal Bosley was born in October 2015. The zoo says Bosley has shown strong interest in playing with his younger brother, but Farasi is still very protective, though, for the time being.

Grevy’s zebra are one of three species of zebra, in addition to plains, or common zebra, and mountain zebra. They are classified as “endangered.”

Dobby, the baby giraffe

Dobby is not the new kid in town, but he is definitely the one that’s getting all the attention.

The month-old articulated giraffe became the talk of the state following a surprise birth at the Denver Zoo on Feb. 28.

He garnered even more attention after tests showed a lack of infection-fighting proteins in the calf just two days after his birth.

Since then, Dobby has gained more than 32 pounds and is five inches taller.

Dobby’s birth brings the total number of giraffes at the Denver Zoo to five.

Scarlet, the kea chick

Denver Zoo officials are celebrating their first-ever hatching of a kea, a large, vulnerable species of parrot.

Named Scarlet, the chick hatched on February 8 and has been hand-reared by zoo keepers since then at the Zoo’s Avian Propagation Center.

It is not known when she will make her public debut at the zoo. 

"Scarlet’s arrival is special as she increases the North American zoo population to only 38 keas, 14 of which are female,” zoo officials said. 

Only 11 institutions in North America house the species and they can be very difficult to breed, but zookeepers were diligent and Scarlet’s mother, Anna, was able to lay four eggs – Scarlet was the only one that was able to hatch. 

Scarlet will eventually placed with her parents once she is old enough, zoo officials said in a news release.

Keas are one of the few alpine species of parrot in the world and are found mostly in the mountains of the South Island of New Zealand.