Meet The Adorable Baby Aardvark That Was Recently Born At This Zoo
The Chester Zoo is located in Chester, England, and this neat zoo focused on conservation houses more than 20,000 different animals.
The zoo has been open for 90 years, and one unique animal that lives at the Chester Zoo is an aardvark.
Surprisingly, the Chester Zoo says that there are so few of them in zoos across the world. There are only 109 aardvarks in worldwide zoos, and 66 of those aardvarks are in Europe alone.
A few weeks ago on January 4th, the Chester Zoo welcomed a baby aardvark (technically called a calf) that they have decided to name Dobby since the baby looks so much like the popular house elf from Harry Potter.
The zoo is not yet sure if Dobby is a boy or a girl, as they have to be a bit older to be sure, but one thing is certain; Dobby is positively adorable.
“The calf, born with large droopy ears, hairless wrinkled skin, and giant claws, is currently being hand-reared every evening by zookeepers who are providing dedicated care, feeding the baby every few hours through the night for around five weeks, to help it gain strength,” the Chester Zoo wrote in a press release.
The birth of Dobby is major news since this is the first time in the zoo’s history that they have ever had an aardvark born there.
Additionally, it’s rare for an aardvark to be born at all in any zoo, this is a major accomplishment for the Chester Zoo.
Facebook; pictured above is Dobby in a video shared by the zoo
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In order to protect Dobby the best that they can, staff members of the Chester Zoo are making sure to go above and beyond with their newest addition around the clock.
“Aardvark parents are notorious for being a little clumsy around their newborns,” Dave White, one of the staff members of the zoo said.
“With the baby being so tiny and fragile, we’re therefore protecting it from any accidental knocks and bumps by helping mum out with supplementary feeding sessions throughout the night, just until the calf is a little stronger.”
Since aardvarks are nocturnal, Dobby’s mom and dad are active at night. During the evenings, Dobby gets put into a little incubator and given milk that’s been warmed up.
During the days, Dobby gets placed back with mom to spend time with her.
You can learn more about Dobby here!
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