There are currently many young animals on show in Basel Zoo. The very youngest, such as the bison calf, are still rather unsteady on their feet. The older offspring, such as the three Asian small-clawed otters, are entertaining visitors and their Indian rhinoceros pen-mates alike with their busy antics. The young Eurasian eagle-owls and the spectacled owl chicks are thriving thanks to their healthy appetites.

During the day on Saturday, female bison Zora gave birth to a baby calf in the outdoor enclosure. The little one was soon standing in its shaky legs and making an unintentional foray into the water. However, the nameless calf is now on top form, strolling all over the outside enclosure with its mother. At the same time, the Asian small-clawed otters can be found causing a stir in the Indian rhinoceros enclosure. The parents and their three offspring can be seen frolicking all over the place or enjoying a bath in the ditch. They love to follow the rhinoceroses about and nibble at their ears, feet or folds of skin. This doesn’t bother the rhinos at all – in fact, bull ‘Jaffna’ (19) even seems to rather enjoy it.

The young Asian small-clawed otters are already ten months old, and it is now almost impossible to tell them apart from the adults. However, the parents always walk at the front when they get together to shake up the enclosure. If the young otters disappear from their field of vision for too long, the parents whistle their offspring back. There are good signs that there might soon be some more offspring joining the family – the otters are eagerly collecting grass and stashing it in various hiding places as nest material.

It’s also all go for the owls: the Eurasian eagle-owls have three little chicks and the spectacle owls have one, with the former hatching in May and the baby spectacle owl, which is already showing the first traces of adult plumage, appearing in March.

Zoo animals generally give birth to their young without outside help. One exception was the zebu calf ‘Jamelia’ on 19^th April, who had to be delivered via caesarean section. ‘Jamelia’ and mother ‘Conny’ (3) are now both doing extremely well. In the next few days the three weeks of box rest ordered by the zoo vet will be up, and the pair will be allowed to rejoin the herd in the outdoor enclosure of the children’s zoo. 

At first, everything seemed to be completely fine for dwarf zebu cow ‘Conny’ (3). However, the children’s zoo keeper then reported that although the mother’s waters had broken at 4pm, by 9pm no progress had been made with the birth despite strong contractions. It soon became clear that an emergency caesarean section would be required. At around midnight, the female calf ‘Jamelia’ was finally handed over to her mother. During the three weeks of box rest prescribed by the vet, ‘Conny’ and ‘Jamelia’ have recovered amazingly quickly from their exertions and can already be seen in the outside enclosure of the children’s zoo. Only the caesarean section incision on Conny’s left side serves as a reminder of Jamelia’s unusual birth.

Thankfully, birthing interventions are extremely rare at Basel Zoo. Wild animals generally give birth to their young during the night or in the early hours of the morning. The dwarf zebus are a breed of cattle primarily used in Sri Lanka as transport and draught animals. In the children’s zoo, they live together with the peacock goats in a shared enclosure. The small herd consists of dwarf zebu bull ‘Baijan’ (10) and four cows.

Feeding time at the vivarium is a real insider’s tip for visitors to Basel Zoo. Only a few know that around 480 different species are fed at the vivarium every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 3pm. Visitors who are in the vivarium at this time can only marvel at the number of feed types and different preparations used. Feeding time for the piranhas or archerfish is a particularly spectacular sight.

For around 6000 animals in the vivarium, Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays offer a rich diet. Only a few require daily feeding. Since even fish can become too fat, the majority are given their ration only three times a week. Feeding time always takes place between 3pm and 4pm, and can be watched by visitors. The most popular meal times are those of the rapidly, hungrily guzzling piranhas, or alternatively the archerfish, which knock insects down from the branches with a powerful jet of water. However, an equally impressive sight is the feeding of the stonefish and lion fish, or even the starfish and corals.

Providing nutrition to such a large number of different animals in the vivarium is a real art. Every day, four zoo keepers are responsible for ensuring that each of the vivarium’s 6000 inhabitants is well-fed. Different feeding techniques also require different types of food, meaning that approximately seventy different feedstuffs are available. 

Basel Zoo is looking back over a good business year, as shown by the recently published annual report. The zoo achieved a new visitor record with 1,753,508 admissions. An increase in donations and a respectable financial result have allowed the zoo to demonstrate positive development in its 2011 annual report. The zoo will remain reliant on donations for future projects, such as a new elephant enclosure and the oceanium. Operating income only covers just under two thirds of Basel Zoo’s operating expenses. 

Basel Zoo’s recently published annual report is a positive one: in 2011 the zoo achieved new record attendance with 1,754,508 visitors (over 1,693,079 for the previous year). This generated revenue from admission and season ticket sales of CHF 8,254,435 (CHF 8,008,163 for the previous year). Income from the zoo restaurants also increased to CHF 6,566,571 and income from the shop to CHF 1,119,739. Extremely conservatively invested securities produced a net financial result of CHF -1,411,371, corresponding to a negative security performance of approximately -4%, which is comparatively small.

Generous donations for the ape enclosure and zoo restaurant

Another pleasing development is the fresh influx of large and smaller donations, gifts, bequests and sponsorships amounting to a total of CHF 26,581,622, of which CHF 7,500,000 is a further instalment from the Eckenstein-Geigy Foundation and CHF 10,000,000 an anonymous donation for rebuilding the zoo restaurant. The construction and planning costs of CHF 14,992,948 recorded for building the monkey house, business building and logistics building as well as for other projects stand against the CHF 15,198,819 released from restricted funds. 

Basel Zoo is an educational institution

Together with research, conservation and recreation, Basel Zoo’s main task is education. This is why the zoo again received a payment of CHF 1,450,000 from the Canton of Basel-Stadt in 2011 for the services it provided, particularly in education and communication. Species-appropriate animal care is a prerequisite for education in the zoo, which also includes support from zoo staff. The increase in personnel expenses (excluding ancillary operations) to CHF 11,477,875 can be particularly attributed to the early employment of additional animal keepers to cover forthcoming retirements. The ‘administrative costs and events’ drop to CHF 919,506 is due to the ‘Zolli-Bâle’ gala event held the previous year. Following the allocation of CHF 20,938,760 to restricted funds, the final annual profit amounts to CHF 93,437.

Basel Zoo is reliant on donations

Despite this gratifying result thanks to the generosity of our donors, Zoo Basel will continue to be highly reliant on donations in the future. This is the case simply to cover the ongoing operating loss, as the income from our comparatively low entry and season ticket prices only equates to just under two thirds of our continually rising costs, primarily for staff, operations and feed. In addition, some significant investments are being planned – in the medium term a new elephant enclosure, renovation work to the restaurant building and construction of the oceanium. If the prices for visitor entry and season tickets remain equally affordable in the future, these major projects will be funded exclusively by the numerous large and small donations we receive. 

For the first time ever, broadnosed pipefish – a special type of pipefish – can be seen the Basel Zoo vivarium. These fish, related to seahorses, have up until now been kept behind the scenes, where they have already produced dozens of young. However, the pipefish currently on display in the vivarium come from the University of Zurich, where evolutionary biologist Tony Wilson is using them to research the evolution of sexual preferences. Pipefish are particularly interesting for his research, as it is their males which become ‘pregnant’.

The pipefish in Basel Zoo will be on show in Aquarium 43 for several weeks. Look closely, and you might currently discover a few pregnant males: two rows of tiny eggs are attached to the males’ bellies from the middle of their bodies downwards. Courtship displays and mating generally happen early in the morning or at night, away from prying eyes. Pipefish are related to sea horses, looking like an elongated version of their cousins.

Male pipefish fall pregnant

Many animals use courtship signals to attract a partner. Whether with magnificent peacock feathers, large antlers or a sophisticated courtship dance, it is generally the males who try and impress the females. For pipefish it is rather different – the males are the ones who become pregnant. During the mating season, the females of some species develop striking ornamentation. Some females decorate themselves with a luminous zebra pattern, others opt for a sail-like addition which grows from a pectoral fin and is used in an attempt to beguile the males.

Courtship decorations signal health

This role reversal is interesting to evolutionary biologists, as something which appears to be a purely visual preference may have evolutionary value. For example, whilst the enticing female’s zebra stripes attract predators, they also signal to the male that the female is strong and healthy and able to produce such striking decoration. As male pipefish can take eggs from multiple partners, females must defend their position particularly zealously against their rivals.

There is plenty of lively activity in the Basel Zoo mouflon enclosure. Seven baby mouflon explorers are running their six mothers off their feet. It isn’t a given that each little one is with their own mother. Getting to know each other and developing relationships are the focus of the days following their birth. Familial togetherness forms the basis for a fulfilling childhood and for successfully rearing the lambs into healthy wild sheep.

The seven baby mouflons in Basel Zoo came into the world one after another from march 28th 2012 onwards. The mothers and their seven little ones – two are twins – recognise each other by their scent and their calls. The foundations of the mother-child relationship were established from the very early stages through innumerable personal encounters, where mother and child would sniff each other, huddle together and nudge one another, accompanied by plenty of bleating.

Nurturing relationships, mouflon style

The delicate early stages demand great sensitivity on the part of the zookeeper, who keeps his distance from the newborns. If a lamb should chase after him regardless, he leaves the enclosure and removes himself from the still fragile network of relationships. Mouflons need to structure their own relationships – a lamb reared by hand will find itself in a practically impossible position as a fully grown mouflon. Once a bond is forged, mother and child are generally never found far apart. Nevertheless, every now and then a lamb gets lost while searching for maternal milk and snuffles between the forelegs of its mother or of another ewe, as female sheep are called. Eventually mother and child call to each other and are reunited, and all is back as it should be. To ensure that this remains the case, relationships must be nurtured. The little one drinks, wags its tail energetically, and is sniffed and cleaned by its mother. The bond is reforged and thus strengthened.

Inquisitive little climbers

As precocial animals, mouflon lambs are quick to stand on their own four feet. They are already following their mothers everywhere, skilfully climbing and conquering rocks and tree trunks. After less than a week, they are already nibbling at solid food such as branch bark, but can only digest this from three weeks old. The lambs are increasingly exploring their surroundings. Whether encountering the other mouflon individuals, drinking milk from their mother or scrambling over the rocks, they are gradually learning how to be wild sheep. They are able to survive without their mother from the age of ten weeks, but the ewes generally suckle their young for four to five months.

A zebra foal and two new animals from other zoos are causing a commotion among Basel Zoo’s zebras. The brown and white striped filly Jua is the second offspring to be born to Chambura (7). The two new arrivals Tibor and Nuba came to Basel Zoo for genetic reasons. A further birth is expected in the coming days. 

For the zebra foal Jua, born in Basel Zoo on 11th March, life could not currently be called boring. The foal barely had time to explore the enclosure with initially unsteady footsteps before two new zebras arrived: on 27th March Tibor (2), a young stallion from a Dutch zoo, and on 30th March Nuba (1 ½), a young mare from a Swiss private owner. Things became a little lively at first as the two new arrivals got to know the Basel herd. Wild chases and biting were quickly followed by the first advances. The young stallion soon captivated the herd.

More births expected

A young mare came from France on 3rd November and the Basel Zoo group’s young stallion travelled to Gossau Zoo, where he is to be the new breeding stallion. The exchange was made for genetic reasons. As two of the three Basel Zoo mares are already very old, an injection of young blood was also urgently needed. It is easier to integrate young animals if they encounter individuals of the same age. However, collecting the new arrival at around the same time proved to be a logistical challenge. Now, the group is finally complete. Another happy event is expected the coming days: Syberia’s round belly heralds an imminent birth.

Comings and goings in the zebra herd

In Africa, the homeland of the plains zebra, zebra herds do not develop fixed structures which last for years – instead, these structures are constantly changing. Young animals leave the family at the age of around 18 months, new sexually mature mares are thrust into the herd and the stallion may be usurped by a younger animal. This prevents inbreeding and ensures that the population remains healthy. For the same reasons, groups in zoos are continually being ‘remixed’.