オーストラリア・シドニーのタロンガ動物園で、双子のミーアキャットの赤ちゃんが生まれた。同動物園でミーアキャットの赤ちゃんが生まれるのは7年ぶりだ。
7年も待った甲斐はあったといえるだろう。なぜならその赤ちゃんというのがこの世のものとは思えないほど可愛いからだ。
ミーアキャットの赤ちゃんが生まれたのは2016年1月7日だが、ようやく巣箱を離れ、自由に屋外を歩き回ることができるようになったという。
飼育員は、2匹がそれぞれオスとメスではないかと推定している。正確な性別が明らかになるのは、2月末に獣医の検査とワクチン接種をする際だ。
「2匹は最初は外の世界に怯えているようでした。しかし、お父さんとお母さんに励まされ、外を探検するようになったのです」。飼育員のコートニー・マホニーさんは説明した。
「まだ赤ちゃんですが、すでに2匹とも個性を見せ始めています。2匹の中でより体が大きいのはオス（推定）の方です。この子の方が、好奇心旺盛で、探検好きです。メスの方は大人しくて、ママにくっついています」
2匹はすでにタロンガ動物園で見ることができるものの、「徐々に外の世界に慣れさせたい」という方針のため、1日のうち見られる時間は限られているようだ。
赤ちゃんミーアキャットの写真は以下から確認できる。可愛すぎてキュン死してしまわないよう、注意しよう。
探検に出かけるミーアキャットの赤ちゃん。
カメラに興味を示すミーアキャットの赤ちゃん。
人の手に乗っかってみるミーアキャットの赤ちゃん。
ちっちゃな可愛らしい手に注目。
きょうだいで仲良く散歩。
タロンガ動物園へようこそ。
ミーアキャットも、あなたに会えることを待っている。
動物園の中で、赤ちゃんミーアキャットに会えるのはここ。
動物の赤ちゃん
Baby Elephant San Diego Zoo(01 of32)
A newborn Africa elephant lifted his trunk in search of his mother at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. The male calf was born at 5:45 a.m. on Monday to Umngani (oom-gah-nee). In this rare moment, the calf stood alone after he had wandered off a few steps, but shortly thereafter his mother, 5-year-old sister Khosi (koh-see), and 2-year-old brother Ingadze (in-Gahd-zee) rushed over to tend to the unnamed calf. Throughout the day the family watched over their newest member, letting him only stray a few feet. The Safari Park is now home to 18 elephants8 adults and 10 youngsters. The adults were rescued in 2003 from the Kingdom of Swaziland, where they faced being culled. The average gestation period for African elephants is 649 days or 22 months. A newborn calf averages 200 to 300 pounds. Calves can be weaned at 2 to 3 years old. (credit:Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo Safair Park)
Baby Red Pandas(02 of32)
A zookeeper holds up Kit and Kitty, the twin red pandas born in June on the first day of their introduction into their new enclosure at Tierpark Zoo on September 13, 2011 in Berlin, Germany. The red panda (Ailerus fulgens) is a rare mammal native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. (credit: Sean Gallup, Getty Images)
Baby Flamingo(03 of32)
A flamingo baby cleans itself in its enclosure at the zoo of Hanover, northern Germany, on September 1, 2011. In the past three weeks, five flamingo fledgling hatched out at the Hanover zoo. For the next two months the flamingo babies will be fed by their parents from the beak. Only when they reach an age of three to four years, the young flamingoes will be as pink as their parents. (credit:Holger Hollemann, AFP / Getty Images)
Baby capuchin(04 of32)
New-born golden-bellied capuchin named Pinu\'u sits on the back of his mother Ibama in their enclosure in the Cologne zoo, Germany, Thursday Aug. 11. 2011. Pinu\'u was born on July 4, 2011. (credit:Timur Emek, AP)
Caracal Kittens(05 of32)
This photo released from the Oregon Zoo shows five-week-old Caracal kittens. (credit:Michael Durham, Oregon Zoo)
Orca whale(06 of32)
In this July 6, 2011 photo provided by the Center for Whale Research, K-44, right, a newborn male orca whale, is shown swimming with his mother, K-27, near Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. (AP Photo/Center for Whale Research, Astrid van Ginneken) (credit:Astrid van Ginneken, Center for Whale Research / AP)
Siberian tigers(07 of32)
Zoo keepers hold three newborn Siberian tigers, Virgil, Thrax and Manu, at the Budapest Zoo and Botanic Garden in the Hungarian capital on July 4, 2011. The eight-week-old tigers were presented to the press for the first time with their health checkup and ID chips implanted by the chief doctor of the zoo. (credit:Attila Kisbenedek, AFP / Getty Images)
Colobus monkey(08 of32)
Melbourne Zoo\'s newest primate baby, a three week-old Colobus monkey, is held in the arms of her mother Clover, in Melbourne on June 29, 2011. Keepers have not been able to determine the sex of the newborn monkey which is pure white and won\'t display any black markings until it\'s several months old. Black and White Colobus Monkeys, native to Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Kenya, have seen their populations suffer from the fur trade during colonial times, but now the greatest threats to their survival are the loss of their habitat and the bushmeat trade, the large-scale hunting to supply meat to towns and cities. (credit:William West, AFP / Getty Images)
Mustang-Arabian colt(09 of32)
A two-day old Mustang-Arabian colt rushes to keep up with his mom, Maggie, in a corral at Fred Muzi\'s Millstone Farm in Dover, Mass. Wednesday, June 22, 2011. Maggie, 3, is one of nine feral horses rescued in Western Mass. by the MSPCA, now being fostered with the goal of getting them healthy and ready for adoption. (credit:Elise Amendola, AP)
Hippopotamus(10 of32)
A 13-days old hippo with his mother Maruska showed to public for the first time at the Prague\'s Zoo in Prague, Czech Republic, Tuesday, June 21, 2011. (credit:Petr David Josek, AP )
Ostrich(11 of32)
One of 13 newborn ostriches is accompanied by a hen as it explores its enclosure on June 21, 2011 at the zoo in Berlin. The flightless birds are native to Africa. (credit:Joerg Carstensen, AFP / Getty Images)
German Man Turns Apartment Into Bunny Farm(12 of32)
German authorities have accused Ralf Werner, 45, of turning the balcony of his tiny Berlin apartment into a bunny farm. Officials found 122 bunnies on the premises, many with bite wounds. He has been banned from keeping animals and faces a court case for animal cruelty. (credit:Europics / aktion tier e.V)
Baby Bottle Nose Dolphin(13 of32)
A baby bottle nose dolphin, born last month, swims close to his mother at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo on June 7, 2011. (credit:Yoshikazu Tsuno, AFP / Getty Images)
Newborn Asiatic Elephant(14 of32)
Newborn female Asiatic Elephant calf born to Johti, a 44-year-old, plays at Ostrava\'s Zoo on May 31, 2011. The calf was born on April 15. (credit:Joe Klamar, AFP / Getty Images)
Newborn Lambs(15 of32)
Newborn lambs are watched by their mother at Barracks Farm on April 1, 2011 in Fetcham, England. 300 ewes are lambing at the farm owned by the Conisbee family who supply their own butchers shops in nearby Horsley. The business has been run by generations of Conisbees for over 250 years. (credit:Peter Macdiarmid, Getty Images)
Baby Spider Monkey Estela(16 of32)
A baby Spider Monkey named Estela plays with her grandmother Sonya at Melbourne Zoo on May 6, 2011. Estela was abandoned at birth by her mother Sunshine, and it has taken 24/7 care from Primate Department Keepers to pull the tiny newborn through since her birth on January 17, 2011. The baby spider monkey which is native to Central America, is currently receiving six feeds of formula a day and is now slowly being introduced to solid foods. (credit:William West, AFP / Getty Images)
Baby Duckling Swim Time(17 of32)
In this Wednesday, May 25, 2011 photo, baby ducklings climb up a board ramp to access their \"pond\" that was made for swimming in the inner courtyard of St. Anne\'s Retirement Community near Lancaster, Pa. The ducklings have been entertaining the residents of the retirement community with their antics. (credit:Richard Hertzler, Lancaster Newspapers / AP)
Baby Panda in Chengdu(18 of32)
A baby Panda is seen at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding on April 19, 2011 in Chengdu, China. (credit:Ian Walton, Getty Images)
Firefly the Rhino(19 of32)
In this photo provided by The Wilds Conservation Center, Firefly a baby rhino stands at the Wilds conservation center in Cumberland, Ohio on April 5, 2011. Facebook fans of The Wilds conservation center in southeast Ohio were asked to select a name for its newest rhino. (credit:The Wilds Conservation Center / AP)
Baby Giant Anteater(20 of32)
A newborn baby Giant Anteater rides on the back of his mom, Evita, at the San Francisco Zoo on January 20, 2011 in San Francisco, California. The new infant giant anteater, born on December 22, 2010, made its first public appearance at the Zoo. (credit:Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)
Baby Giraffe(21 of32)
Zuri, a one-month old giraffe, walks past her parents in their outdoor yard at the Cincinnati Zoo, Thursday, May 5, 2011 in Cincinnati. Zuri was making her first appearance outside at the zoo. (credit:Al Behrman, AP )
Snow Leopard(22 of32)
One of the three snow leopards triplets rests near its mother at Basel Zoo in northwestern Switzerland on June 15, 2011. The zoo showed off the eight-week-old cubs longside their mother, Mayhan and father, Pator. The pair were matched mid-January through a preservation program run by the European Association of Zoo and Aquaria. (credit:Sebastien Bozon, AFP / Getty Images)
Baboon(23 of32)
A baby baboon plays with an adult one at the Hellabrunn zoo in Munich, southern Germany on June 15, 2011. Baboons are native to Africa and and live in hierarchical groups. (credit:Christof Stache, AFP / Getty Images)
Cheetah(24 of32)
Godfrey Mutuku Jones, a caretaker at Kenya\'s Wildlife Service orphanage, holds two, 3-month old female Cheetah cubs at the Nairobi Orphanage in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, June 6, 2011. The two Cheetah cubs were abandoned by their mother, in Tsavo East, South of Nairobi, and were brought to the orphanage to be cared for by the Kenya Wildlife Service in Nairobi National Park. (credit:Sayyid Azim, AP)
Lion(25 of32)
A lion cub yawns at the Lion Park in Johannesburg, during a visit of the Slovenian national football team on June 14, 2010 during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. (credit:Mustafa Ozer, AFP / Getty Images)
Bear cub(26 of32)
A three month old bear cub who was born at the zoo in Stavropol looks at ostriches on May 5, 2011. (credit:Danil Semyonov, AFP / Getty Images)
Asian Small-clawed Otters(27 of32)
An adult Asian Small-clawed Otter, right, and two baby otters sit in their enclosure at the zoo in Heidelberg, southwestern Germany, on March 28, 2011. The animals, also known as Oriental Small-clawed Otter, are the smallest otter species in the World and are native to South-Eastern Asia. (credit:Ronald Wittek, AFP / Getty Images)
Red Panda(28 of32)
In this handout image provided by Taronga Zoo, Seba, a baby Red Panda, explores his new home at Taronga Zoo on April 7, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. The Red Panda cub was born at Christmas and is the 45th to be born at the zoo since 1977 (credit:Taronga Zoo / Getty Images)
Polar Bear(29 of32)
Two polar bear cubs Gregor and Aleut play at the Tiergarten zoo in Nuremberg, southern Germany, on March 24, 2011. (credit:David Ebener, AFP / Getty Images)
Ring-tailed Coati (30 of32)
Ring-tailed coati cubs play at the zoo in Duisburg, western Germany, Friday, May 6, 2011. (credit:Martin Meissner, AP)
Sumatran Tiger(31 of32)
Two baby Sumatran tiger cubs doze in their enclosure at the zoo in the central German city of Frankfurt am Main on May 25, 2011. (credit:Boris Roessler, AFP / Getty Images)
White Lion(32 of32)
A three-day-old white lion cub sleeps in Belgrade Zoo, Serbia, Wednesday, April 20, 2011. The four white lions cubs, an extremely rare subspecies of the African lion were recently born in Belgrade Zoo. (credit:Darko Vojinovic, AP)
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