The Zoo's second albino koala was named Onya-Birri, meaning

When Maya and Medea were born on June 3, 1997, there was much cause for celebration—red pandas had not been born at the Zoo in more than 43 years! Their mother, Maria, was one of eight western red pandas housed at the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES) off-exhibit facility, part of a program to study the species' reproductive behavior, endocrinology, and physiology, and breed the endangered species. When she demonstrated behaviors that signaled she was ready to mate, she was paired with Ponya, a male that had showed interest in her from a nearby enclosure. Maria proved to be an attentive mother, too, even though this was her first litter, and she raised Maya and Medea with care. By the time the two female cubs were three months old (seen here, wrestling in a crate they liked to use as a sleeping nest), they were curious and playful, if still a bit clumsy. By five months of age, they were eating solid food and had grown so much it was hard to distinguish them from their mother.

On January 24, 1997, the pair of European otters at the Zoo surprised the keepers with a New Year's present: the Zoo's first pup of this species! He was also the first of his kind born in the United States, since the Zoo had the only breeding pair of European otters at the time. It was a bit of a surprise because the mother otter had been spending lots of time in the den, so the keepers hadn't had a good look at her in a while—plus, otters have the ability to delay gestation, making it hard to pinpoint if or when a birth might take place. Everyone was very happy to discover the little fellow, though, and pleased to see that both mom and dad were taking excellent care of him.

Rare and Adorable

The Zoo’s koala keepers hadn’t expected to ever see one albino koala—Goolara, born in 1986—let alone two! But sure enough, on September 1, 1997, another all-white koala was born at the Zoo. When Onya-Birri, meaning “ghost boy” (far left) made his first appearance in March 1998, this 81st koala born to the San Diego Zoo’s colony took everyone by surprise.

Two other rare births took place in 1997 as well: western red panda cubs (above)—the first red pandas born at the Zoo in 43 years!—and a European otter pup (left), which was not only the first birth of this species at the Zoo but also the first in the United States.

1997

Vision 1997 - 2006