Dobby: Zoo welcomes first aardvark born in 90 years

A zoo in the United Kingdom (UK) has welcomed an aardvark calf born for the first time in 90 years on January 4 that has been nicknamed Dobby.

The aardvark was born to the parents, Oni and Koss at Chester Zoo in Cheshire while the calf’s sex has recently been determined.

Chester Zoo shared photos of aardvark calf on its Facebook page. The aardvark calf was currently being hand-reared by zookeepers.

The social media page of the zoo said, “IT’S A GIRL. We’re over the moon to reveal that Dobby the aardvark calf, is a baby girl!”

The zoo wrote on their website, “The calf, born with large droopy ears, hairless wrinkled skin, and giant claws. [Dobby] 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 aardvark calf was named after the Harry Potter character for its hairless wrinkled skin and dangling ears.

In the wild aardvarks are found in sub-Saharan Africa where they are threatened by habitat loss as a result of agricultural development, which also brings them into conflict with local farmers. They are also hunted for their meat, the website said.

With only 66 aardvarks found in zoos across Europe and a mere 109 in zoos worldwide, Chester is one of just a small number of zoos caring for the species.