Bouncing Zoo Babies of 2011: Page 2

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November: Capybara

capybara baby San Diego Zoo — (Image credit: Ken Bohn, San Diego Zoo)

When this picture was taken in late November, this baby capybara was only 1 day old and weighed 3 to 5 pounds.

Capybaras are the world's largest rodent species an adult male can weigh up to 141 pounds and a female up to 146 pounds.

The word capybara means "master of the grass" and its scientific name, Hydrochoerus, means "water hog" because of its love for water.

December: Grevy's Zebra

This Grevy's Zebra foal was the second one born to the Great Plains Zoo in South Dakota.

The zoo's 10-year-old zebra, named Trinity, gave birth to the male foal, who weighed 80 pounds. Foals typically weight between 50 and 80 pounds, and mothers gives birth after a 13-month gestation period.

These animals are endangered due to competition with domestic grazing animals, habitat destruction and human disturbance at critical water holes. In the 1970s, there were about 15,000 Grevy's Zebras across Africa; today only about 2,500 survive in the wild.[Read more: World's Cutest Baby Wild Animals]

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