Milwaukee zoo welcomes Bactrian camel calf named Jethro
If Jethro the Bactrian camel calf knew an Amur tiger was just a short pounce away, it's likely he wouldn't have placidly relaxed in cool grass Thursday morning.
When Jethro was born in front of excited onlookers on the afternoon of June 7, he didn't get up in the normal three or four hours that camel calves usually take to stand up for the first time.
“He was a little bit of a slow starter,” said Tim Wild, large mammals curator at the Milwaukee County Zoo. “Physically, his legs were strong.”
And even though he tipped the scales at 77 pounds, he was underweight for a baby camel and had trouble nursing. Had the two-humped tyke been born in the wild in the central Asia steppes, Jethro probably would have ended up as lunch.
The lucky ungulate, though, was born in the Milwaukee County Zoo, which announced his birth Thursday, where he now lives overlooking the tigers' outdoor enclosure.
It has been a busy spring and summer at the zoo with several arrivals, both babies and transplants. Among them:
Hershey, a male waterbuck calf born April 12 to Hannah, who was pregnant when she arrived from the San Diego Zoo Safari Park last fall. Waterbucks are large antelopes from subSaharan Africa. Hershey can be seen in the Milwaukee County Zoo's African waterhole habitat.
A male giraffe born July 13 to mother Ziggy and father Bahatika. The baby giraffe weighed 152 pounds and stood 5feet-7 when he was born. He can be seen in the indoor giraffe building between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Iibu, a 11⁄2-year-old Baird's tapir who arrived in Milwaukee in April from the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Ariz. Pronounced “Eeee-bow,” Iibu alternates his time in the South American habitat with the other male, Harley. Iibu is suffering from sore feet and as he heals, he'll return to the exhibit.
“Everybody loves babies. Baby camel, baby giraffe, baby waterbuck,” Wild said.
Jethro was named after the dimwitted character on 1960s TV show “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Because he didn't start nursing right away, zookeepers stepped in to bottle feed him and guide him to his mother.
Bactrian camel calves nurse for the first three months of their lives before gradually moving to solid food by nibbling on hay and vitamin-enriched camel pellets, Wild said.
His mother, Addie-Jean, has given birth before and is an attentive mom. His father is Stan. Breeding season is in the spring for Bactrian camels; gestation lasts a little over a year. Four calves have been born at the Milwaukee County Zoo in the last eight years.
Patrick and George, the most recent births before Jethro, were sent to the zoo in Syracuse, New York.
Since he's male, it's likely that Jethro will go to another zoo when he's a year old.
As he sat in grass next to a circular car wash brush the camels use to scrub off old fur, Jethro was the center of attention for visitors who saw the birth announcement sign and stopped to snap photos.
Right now, his back doesn't resemble a Bactrian camel, known for two humps while Dromedary camels have one hump.
“Humps are for fat storage,” Wild said. “As Jethro grows and eats and puts on weight, the humps will stand up a bit more.”
While the Milwaukee County Zoo often resembles a nursery, it can also be a roommate finder. In the primate area, 37-year-old orangutan Tommy needed a companion after female Rayma was recently transferred to the Phoenix Zoo.
So 36-year-old Alexandria — called Alex — arrived in Milwaukee in late April from the Cincinnati Zoo. Alex and the male orangutan in Cincinnati didn't get along, which sometimes happens with roommates, and when a spot opened in Milwaukee, she moved in two weeks after Rayma left.
“For whatever reason some animals are not compatible,” said primates zookeeper Kara DeLanty.
After a month in quarantine, Alex was gradually introduced to Milwaukee's orangutan exhibit, living in a room where the windows were covered with paper for privacy. Zookeepers slowly removed pieces of paper and as Alex became comfortable, she was introduced to the outdoor exhibit and to Tommy, who was born at the Milwaukee zoo in 1982.
Alex was born at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison in 1983.
Both Alex and Tommy are hybrid orangutans, meaning they have both Sumatra and Borneo genetics from two of the three species of orangutans.
“Which isn't done anymore in zoos. Both have been sterilized,” said DeLanty. “They're just roommates.”
Orangutans are very intelligent primates and enrichment activities include painting with brushes, playing with toys and mirrors and pulling out bags of spices from boxes. Both Tommy and Alex love fruit, especially grapes.
“Alex loves to eat so she'll train on anything, fruits, veggies, whatever,” DeLanty said as Alex lay on a platform, looking intently at the zookeeper during an interview. “Tommy is more discerning, he likes sweets.”
Orangutans commonly live into their 60s in zoos and since the Milwaukee zoo has room for only two, it's possible Tommy and Alex will be here for decades.