All the cute baby animals you’ll be able to see when Chester Zoo reopens

Chester Zoo is set to reopen its doors next month and there are plenty of cute baby animals to see.

After a challenging year for Chester Zoo, the news from Boris Johnson last week that means outdoor attractions such as zoos and theme parks can reopen from April 12th was welcomed.

And over the course of lockdown, there has been a baby boom in the zoo too!

There’s everything to see from tree frogs to penguin chicks and rare baby lemurs.

Chester Zoo/Facebook

Of some of the smallest to see are 12cm long baby Mongoose triplets that were born back in May last year.

Chester Zoo

Even smaller, a pair of Eastern Pygmy Marmosets were born in December measuring just two inches long at the time.

The babies are part of the most miniature primate species on Earth and are normally found in the rainforests of western Brazil, south-eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador and eastern Peru.

Chester Zoo

Some of the largest species at the zoo saw new additions, like the birth of a rare baby rhino. The birth of the Eastern Black Rhino was celebrated globally as fewer than 1,000 remain on the planet.

Chester Zoo

You’ll also find baby penguins born at the start of lockdown last year, plus baby Great Green Macaw Parrot chicks that hatched back in April 2020.

These colourful birds live in the lowland forests of Central and South America with a global population estimated at fewer than 2,500.

In March last year, twin ring-tailed lemurs were born to parents Fiona and Dog.

Rare Mexican frogs were born at Chester Zoo in September – the first of their kind born in a European zoo.

As part of a successful breeding programme, 100 Mexican Leaf Frogs hatched at the zoo after keepers recreated the scorching conditions of their natural environment.

Chester Zoo

A critically endangered Western chimpanzee was born by 43-year-old Mandy in August at Chester Zoo. Normally found in West Africa, there are as few as 18,000 Western chimpanzees remaining in the wild.

It’s also the first subspecies of chimpanzee to be added to the list of critically endangered apes, making this birth vital to the future of the subspecies.

Chester Zoo

A critically endangered Bornean orangutan was born in October, a surprise to keepers as mum Leia had a negative pregnancy test just a few months prior.

Estimates suggest fewer than 55,000 Bornean orangutans remain on the island of Borneo in Indonesia, the only place you can find them in the wild.

Earlier last month, Chester Zoo bosses revealed that the zoo is losing £1.7m a month, totalling to £11.5m in losses if the zoo can reopen on April 12th.