Posted August 6, 2020 in New Arrivals
Our three Bush dog pups have been named!
Back in May we welcomed three tiny Bush dog pups born to mum Nina and dad Nico joining their ever-growing family!
All three pups have since been confirmed as female and been named Rio, Rascal and Rusti! They have been named with the letter ‘R’ to follow on in the alphabet with mum and dad’s names starting with ‘N’. The Animal Care team then named the pair’s first litter with ‘O’; their second litter with ‘P’; and their third litter with ‘Q’. Altogether Nina and Nico have had 13 pups, 1 of them, Oakley, has since left Colchester Zoo to join another group of Bush dogs but we still have 12 Bush dogs in total here living within our care!
During the first few weeks the cubs were not seen by the team as they stayed safely tucked away in their den. Over the last few months they have continued to grow healthy and strong and have been spending more and more time outside, learning to feed and their adult rust colour fur coming through their fluffy brown fur!
Bush dogs are a rare and unusual canid from Central & South America. They have short legs, a short bushy tail, a rounded muzzle and ears. They are well adapted to a semi-aquatic lifestyle with webbed feet to aid swimming!
The birth of the pups is extremely important to Colchester Zoo and the breeding programme as this species is currently Classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Our Bush dog family can be seen from the bridge at our Lost Madagascar Express Station and they enjoy exploring the many logs and pools within their enclosure.
