Aardvark calf born at Chester zoo is ‘doing brilliantly’ after bottle-feeding
Summary
A baby aardvark named Womble was born at Chester Zoo and needed bottle-feeding because its mother, Oni, did not produce enough milk. Womble is now seven weeks old, healthy, and living with its mother full-time.Key Facts
- Womble is only the second aardvark born in Chester Zoo’s 94-year history.
- The mother aardvark, Oni, is 13 years old and had low milk production after giving birth.
- Keepers fed Womble warm milk every few hours and kept the calf in an incubator at night.
- Aardvarks are nocturnal animals native to sub-Saharan Africa that eat ants and termites using long tongues and claws.
- There are only 68 aardvarks in European zoos and 114 worldwide.
- Womble weighed 1.4 kg at birth and now weighs about 7 kg.
- Breeding aardvarks in captivity is difficult, and births at the zoo are very rare.
- Aardvarks face threats like habitat loss and hunting in the wild.
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