GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There's been a baby boom at John Ball Zoo.
FOX 17 first reported it to you on Monday.
Tuesday, FOX 17 visited the zoo to see the animals in action.
Three very active baby lynx are just the start of the additional animals. There are also three new penguins, a snow leopard cub and a baby bongo.
The lynx and the bongo are out in the exhibits for people to see.
“We have our snow leopard baby; she’s not quite out yet. She’s still a little clumsy. We're expecting another three to four weeks before she’s out,” Curator Tim Sampson said.
It's all in the name of conserving animal species. Each birth is another feather in the zoo's cap.
A lot of these births can be attributed to what is called the Species Survival Plan.
“It’s a genetic database, which helps us move around animals and pair them up for genetic diversity without overpopulation,” Sampson said.
Animals can come from all over the country and even travel internationally. One of the snow leopards came from Canada.
“There’s a lot of moving around, a lot of planning, and then, fingers crossed, and letting nature take its work,” Sampson said.
Species Survival Plans have already made a big impact.
“The SSPs, I’ll use golden lion tamarin — that is a small South American primate. Without an SSP they wouldn’t be around anymore. The Species Survival Plan is single-handedly responsible for saving that species,” Sampson said.
The zoo is trying to breed tigers and potentially pygmy hippos. They'll try more intentionally to make that happen in the fall, Sampson says.
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