Advertisement |
"These births are important victories for the European Endangered Species Program (EEP) as we work to ensure these animals, which face a myriad of threats in the wild, have a strong and genetically varied population at conservations zoos like Whipsnade," said Webb.
The 13 new fawns are visible to the public at the zoo's Passage Through Asia habitat. The habitat is also home to Przewalski's horses which the Whipsnade Zoo describes as the "only true wild horse."
A new Przewalski's foal, which has yet to be named, was recently born at the zoo, joining the baby Przewalski's horse known named Luujin by zoo staff.
The tiny Northern Rockhopper Penguins born recently to the zoo are native to the South Atlantic region, including parts of Antarctica, and are amongst the smallest species of penguin on Earth.
The population of Rockhopper Penguins has plummeted since the 1950s and it is officially classified as an endangered species. An oil spill in 2011, near the Tristan de Cunha volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, killed a large number of local penguins, including Northern Rockhopper penguins.