All the Adorable Animals Born During the Cincinnati Zoo's Quarantine Baby Boom

The Cincinnati Zoo is in the middle of a baby boom, with the birth of several animals in recent months ranging from a red panda cub to Phoebe the colobus monkey and Pocket the wallaby to various chicks, including a king penguin, a red-crown crane and more flamingos than any other year. The most recent addition to the zoo’s family is a female bonobo, a type of chimpanzee, born last week to Kesi, a first-time mom, according to the zoo. “We usually celebrate Zoo Babies month in May, but we’re seeing a surprisingly-large second wave of births this year,” said Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard. “We joke about COVID quarantine being the cause, but the animals didn’t actually spend any more time than usual together during lockdown. We did our best to keep their routines the same.” Bonobos are a critically endangered species, and Kesi’s daughter is the 11th of its kind to be born at the Cincinnati Zoo. Visitors can see the baby, Kesi and her father, 49-year-old Vernon, as early as next week in the Jungle Trails exhibit, the release said. Additionally, the crane and flamingo chicks, the red panda cub and the colobus baby can all be seen if their respective mothers bring the baby out from its nest box. Otherwise, the zoo will post updates on every baby on its social media accounts. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is located at 3400 Vine St., Avondale. Tickets and more info at cincinnatizoo.org.