New babies arrive at Little Ponderosa
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Corbin Cox of the Little Ponderosa Zoo and Wildlife Res- cue in Anderson County holds the female alpaca born July 14 at the zoo, as the worried mom hovers behind. The baby had still not been named as of late last week. - G Chambers Williams III
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This as-yet unnamed baby water buffalo, shown here at one week old, was born July 21 at the Little Ponderosa Zoo and Wildlife Rescue to parents Tinkerbelle and Hammer- - G Chambers Williams III
Clinton’s Little Ponderosa Zoo has two new babies ready for visitors to see: an alpaca and a water buffalo who were born to zoo parents in July.
As of late last week, neither one had yet been named, but the little white alpaca female is already on display in a pen with her mom, and the new water buffalo male will go into a pen for viewing this week, said Corbin Cox, one of the zoo’s owners.
“The alpaca came first in mid-July, then the water buffalo was born July 21,” Cox said.
The water buffalo is the offspring of the only two adults the zoo has among its current residents – mom Tinkerbelle and dad Hammerhead.
The little male was allowed to stay with his mom for the first four days, but then was put into a small indoor pen by himself, where he is being bottle-fed and cared for by zoo workers, Cox said.
“We have to take the water buffalo babies away from their mom when they’re young and start getting them acclimated to people, or they would get mean,” he said.
“He’s starting to show some personality already,” Cox said. And at five days old, he already weighed 70 to 80 pounds.
At the alpaca enclosure, mama and baby were kept together in their own pen, away from others among the zoo’s alpaca population.
Mama got a bit upset, though, when Cox came into the pen and picked up her baby, making circles around him as he held the little one for photographs.
“I’m just hoping she won’t spit on me, which is pretty nasty,” Cox said of the worried mom alpaca.
The Little Ponderosa Zoo and Wildlife Rescue is at 629 Granite Road, Clinton.
It’s open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday noon to 5 p.m.
For more info, call 865-457-5536, or see littleponderosazoo.com.