This summer sees the arrival of new additions to Rome's zoo (Biopark). Perhaps one of the biggest attractions so far this year has been the recent birth of Righetto, the baby zebra. His name, based on the Italian word for stripe, was selected from an competition launched on Italian television which attracted a substantial number of international entries. One entrant from South Africa even suggested Vuvuzebra, in reference to the 2010 World Cup trumpet. Such is Righetto's popularity amongst younger visitors he can now be contacted directly by email on babyzebra@bioparco.it

Also proving popular is the group of 7 coatis, five females and two males, who arrived from Anversa Zoo in Belgium where they were born and grew up. The natural habitat of these lively, long-snouted animals is Central America and the Amazon rain forests, although they are also found in Arizona and New Mexico. Their Latin name is Nasua Nasua in reference to their nose, which is used to sniff out insects, fruit and occasionally mice, frogs and lizards. They are active during the daytime, are excellent climbers and are not an endangered species. Females build tree nests where they give birth to litters of up to seven young, while once the males reach two years of age they become solitary.