San Diego Zoo announces its first aardvark birth
Published in Weird News
(UPI) The San Diego Zoo Safari Park announced the first-ever aardvark calf born at the facility is healthy and bonding with its mother.
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said the baby was born in July to first-time mother Padmae and father Azaan.
"Padmae is described by wildlife care specialists as intuitive, nurturing and patient, and is often seen nursing and grooming her calf," the Wildlife Alliance said in a news release. Padmae and her calf -- said to be strong, confident and curious -- are currently bonding in the privacy of their burrow and are not viewable to the public.
The organization said mother aardvarks typically typically raise their young until they are old enough to forage on their own, about six months.
Aardvarks, native to sub-Saharan Africa, are nocturnal animals with famously long, sticky tongues for eating ants and termites.
"An adult aardvark may eat up to 50,000 insects in a single evening," the news release said.
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said aardvarks are classified as "a species of Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species," but are currently at risk in the wild due to hunting and habitat loss.
Copyright 2024 by United Press International
Comments