It is known all over the world that since July 1 we have the second baby of Chinese pangolin in Prague Zoo; its photos have been published in media from the United States to India to Japan. But this is how it started – and I happened to be around.
On the morning of November 7 last year, a very active journalist had arranged an interview with me. She didn’t want to talk to me in the office or, God forbid, by phone, but in some more interesting place. That’s why we conducted the interview in the Indonesian Jungle next to the exhibit of our famous Šiška, the first pangolin baby raised in Europe.
At that time Šiska was already separated from her mother Tang and coincidentally, on November 7, her parents were reunited. When we finished the interview and walked by the exhibit with the adult pangolins, we could see that they were definitely not wasting time. See the photo. And they continued in the same way in the following days.
The result is the second pangolin baby, which this time Tang did not deliver in the artificial burrow but under a root out of it. When we checked the baby for the first time, it was obviously more mature and active than Šiška was after birth. Nevertheless, we were worried whether, like Šiška, this second young would also have to be artificially fed. Fortunately, our fears didn’t come true. Its daily gains were above optimum. Between the first and the second day 7.2 grams, the next day 8.5 grams, then 6.9, then 11.1 and so on. What a glutton!
At the very first weighting, we of course took detailed pictures of the baby, to be able to determine the sex. However, we were not sure… we asked our colleagues in Taipei Zoo. Female, was the answer. But then there was an addition – maybe… Send more pictures. Only then was it definitely confirmed that it was a female.
Already on July 9 our second pangolin female tried to ride on her mother Tang’s tail, and on July 12 she reached the weight of one quarter of a kilogram. Just to compare – the first she reached three days earlier than Šiška, and the second even fifteen days earlier.
In short, our second pangolin baby female makes us happy. And I can’t wait to be able to talk and write about her using her name. It will be voted on by public, and we will announce it at the christening ceremony on Sunday, July 28. I must admit that I would be happy if the name Pangolina wins.
Pictures by Miroslav Bobek