Busch Gardens Tampa recently welcomed three new residents to the park. A baby aardvark was born on Feb. 6, 2013 and two baby Southern ground hornbills where hatched on Feb. 15 and 19. The healthy baby aardvark is expected to grow to more than 120 pounds within its first year of life and the hornbills are the largest of all hornbills, and the two new males are growing rapidly.
Aardvarks are solitary by nature, and aardvark births are not common. The animal care team at Busch Gardens is very proud to announce this birth as the third born to parents Izzy and Friz. The baby’s sister, Adazee was born on March 26 last year and its older brother Zawadi will be two years old on April 10. The baby, whose sex is unknown at this time, is receiving primary care from its mother and additional care from members of the animal care team behind the scenes.
The Southern ground hornbill is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because the entire population is mainly confined to national parks and reserves. The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund has helped support the Mabula Ground Hornbill Conservation & Research Project, which replenishes the declining ground hornbill population through a successful captive breeding, rearing and release program. Guests can see the two babies at Jambo Junction, located in the Nairobi area of the park. Guests can also visit their older brother Tufts and uncle Baraka, both of which are Busch Gardens animal ambassadors and also located at Jambo Junction.
Check a couple of videos of these baby animals in action:
Check back for more baby animal cuteness here on Orlando Attractions Magazine.
