As one year ends and another begins, let’s celebrate the fantastic work of the Zoo’s staff 365 days out of the year. 2021 was filled with successful breeding programs to save vulnerable species and reaching milestones in conservation projects locally and throughout the world.
#10 Flamingo hatchings! The Fort Worth Zoo is recognized as the No. 1 lesser flamingo breeding facility in the world. Historically, these birds were difficult to breed in professional care. Over time, staff made adjustments to the birds’ nesting habitat to include heat lamps and mirrors for the illusion of more birds and we’ve had successful hatchings consistently ever since. In 2021, the Zoo has hatched a total of 26 flamingo chicks - 23 lesser and 3 Caribbean.
#9 Peaches the lesser kudu calf! She was born in May 2021 to parents Umbrella and Martini and spends her days frolicking in the African Savanna with the springbok. These pictures show how much she’s grown already!
#8 Uri and Viola, the world’s first IVF Houston toads, named after the two Texas winter storms from the winter of 2021. Remember those? While we were all trying to stay warm, our dedicated staff was working on this important research, resulting in a huge conservation milestone. Using in-vitro fertilization allows conservationists to expand genetic diversity and maximize the number of offspring reintroduced into the wild each year. In 2021, 117,346 eggs and 14,572 tadpoles were released into the wild!
#7 Theodore the African penguin was born in 2021, joining the other two little ones born in 2020: Rosie and Rupert. Theodore’s juvenile plumage will stick around until he’s about one year old, so you’ll still be able to spot him in the crowd. He’s starting to form relationships with the older penguins in the group, learning from them and playing with them each day.
#6 The first-ever Texas kangaroo rats born in human care were born right here at the Fort Worth Zoo! These little creatures had us all oohing and ahhing! But more importantly, this species continues to decline in the wild and is a candidate to be federally listed as endangered, making our successful breeding efforts all the more something to celebrate. We’re working with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to ultimately put this species back into the wild.
#5 The Earth Day release of 50 Louisiana pine snakes into the wild - 23 of which were hatched at the Zoo. The Zoo is one of only four breeding centers for this species - one of the most endangered snake species in North America with more than 90% of its historic habitat destroyed. Conservation success after conservation success, our ectotherm staff is making a huge impact with milestones like these.
#4 Olaf the Puerto Rican crested toad is a dad! Olaf was the world’s first of his species to hatch from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) utilizing frozen semen collected from the wild. It’s been two years since then, and in 2021, 5,095 tadpoles joined his family tree. 10 of those tadpoles stayed at the Zoo to continue genetically diverse breeding, but the rest were released into their historic range in Puerto Rico in June!
#3 2021 brought us a bevy of babies, including giraffes! Four calves to be exact. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Giraffe Conservation Foundation estimate that the giraffe population has decreased by 30 percent over the last 20 years in the wild, facing what many are calling a “silent extinction.” The Zoo participates in a cooperative breeding program with other accredited zoos around the country in order to maintain a healthy, genetically diverse population of giraffes as a hedge against extinction. We hope you’ve been able to observe and appreciate these not-so-little guys and it’s only a matter of time before they can reach the top of the feeding deck!
#2 Good news galore for Texas horned lizard conservation! In 2021, biologists in the field found offspring of Zoo-raised hatchlings that had not only survived the winter freeze but had reproduced hatchlings of their own in the wild. In August, the Zoo hatched its 1,000th Texas horned lizard, and later on in the fall, the Zoo and its partners released another 268 hatchlings into the wild. What a year for these little lizards!
#1 The birth of Asian elephant calf, Brazos! After his birth on Oct. 21 and announcement on Nov. 9, Brazos certainly takes up a big chunk of our pride this year. He’s more than just a big ball of fluff - his birth is a huge conservation success. Asian elephant populations in the wild are dwindling, so we know just how special he is. Brazos is an important addition in continuing genetically diverse Asian elephant populations to serve as a hedge against extinction.