Newborn animals fill Budapest Zoo with summer lovin’

Budapest Zoo is experiencing a baby boom this summer, as many animals were born here in recent weeks. Newcomers include freshly hatched flamingos, an anteater pup, mangalica piglets and other cute critters of various species from around the world. While some of the newborns are understandably shy in the first days, zoo visitors can already catch glimpses of the more rambunctious youngsters now frolicking in both the historic section of this 150-year-old animal park and its newly opened Farmyard enclosure showcasing domestic Hungarian species.

The parade of Budapest Zoo’s newcomers got off to a hopping start this spring with the arrival of five new Bennett’s tree-kangaroos, one of the four kangaroo species living in the Magyar menagerie amid City Park. Watch the following video to see these fresh-faced joeys peeking out of their marsupial mamas’ cosy pouches:

During spring, Budapest Zoo also released the following awww-inspiring video of Arun – the elephant toddler born here in autumn – preparing for the summer holiday season by playing with a ball in the pachyderms’ own pool:

In late May, another thick-skinned newborn arrived at the Budapest Zoo’s architecturally notable Palm House. The South American three-banded armadillo baby stayed curled up in a little ball throughout most of its first weeks on this planet, but summertime zoo visitors should have a good chance of seeing this amply armoured infant.

This wee armadillo was joined by a fellow South American compadre with the mid-June birth of a naturally nosy anteater, who is already frequently seen clinging to mother Isabela’s back. Newborn animals of species originating in the Southern Hemisphere seem to like living at the Budapest Zoo, as evidenced in the following video of a playful young Madagascan ring-tailed lemur, released on June 22nd:

In addition to these adorable mammals, quite a few new birds have emerged at the Budapest Zoo in recent weeks – some 25 baby flamingos hatched since spring, bringing the animal park’s population of the neon-pink waterfowl to almost 140. The zoo’s smaller aviary community of glossy ibis also grew by two in May.

Most recently, the Budapest Zoo has announced the arrival of seven cute lambs in the enclosure for Hungary’s own long-horned racka sheep at Holnemvolt Vár (Once-Upon-A-Time Castle), a new section that opened in May and features a Farmyard housing domestic animals. Visitors here can see cute furry mangalica piglets that were also born on-site in recent weeks.