Posted August 19, 2020 in New Arrivals
Colchester Zoo has welcomed another new arrival this Summer!
Our Aardvark group has grown once again as experienced Mum Oq and Dad Afer welcomed an adorable new arrival on the 16th July 2020 who has since been named Njaa Njaa!
This is their second offspring together following on from last year’s youngster, Estie, who will soon be leaving us to join an adult group in the hope that she will find a partner and breed successfully in the future herself.
Njaa Njaa has now mixed with the rest of the group yet but is still sticking close to mum, feeding, and slowly beginning to explore the burrow and head outside from time to time. The Animal Care team kept a close eye on mum and her new arrival during the first few weeks but Njaa Njaa has proven to confident and strong which is a great sign!
Aardvarks such as ours are nocturnal which is why our group can usually be seen sleeping in their burrow during the day! The Aardvark is a unique animal, only found in Africa. They have short powerful limbs and claws which are shovel shaped, ideal for burrowing into the ground or termite mounds!
We are very pleased to continue the successful breeding of this species which are now listed as Least Concern on the IUCN, an improvement of their previous status of Vunerable.
All of aardvarks are currently off show as their viewing area is unable to accommodate social distancing.
