Happy Birthday to Our Takins!

Visitors who rarely come to the Zoo often stop in surprise at the takin enclosure, as most of them have never even heard of these animals before. But our regular visitors usually look for them on purpose, making sure they pass by the takins during their stroll around the Zoo.

There’s no doubt that most people have never even heard of takins. That’s precisely why we present them: it’s very educational for our visitors to learn not only about familiar animals, but also to expand their knowledge by discovering more unusual species.

The takins belong to the even-toed ungulates, specifically the group of horned ruminants. Their closest relatives include goat, sheep, and the rarely seen musk ox. Takins live in the mountain regions of Central Asia, and several different subspecies, even species, have been recognized. We have significant experience in keeping takins. Before we started housing the golden takins currently on display (since 2020), we also cared for Sichuan and Mishmi takins.

Last year was especially exciting for us because we had the joy of a double baby boom among our golden takins. It was not only wonderful because the baby takins are adorable, but also because they belong to a rare species, and their breeding is part of an international zoo program aimed at conservation. In fact, last year’s births were the first time in Hungary that golden takins successfully bred.

The two newcomers were named Bao and Meilin. Meilin, the younger calf, was born on March 6 and will turn one next week. Bao, the older one, celebrates his first birthday today, on February 25. Today is also the birthday of Janek, their father, who is already seven years old. The two mothers, Manka and Panka, were also born around this time of the year, but they are already six years old. Manka’s birthday was on February 20th, and Panka’s is coming up on March 7th.

If you do the math, you’ll see that all five animals have their birthdays in just a bit more than two weeks. This is no surprise, as February and March are the typical birth season for takins. The mating season usually occurs in the second half of summer, followed by a gestation period of 200-220 days.