Zookeepers bottle-feed baby aardvark to help raise it

By Ed Chatterton

Keepers at Chester Zoo have stepped in to help save the life of an adorable baby aardvark — by hand-rearing him with a bottle.

The tiny calf called Womble is being bottle-fed warm milk throughout the night to help him grow after mom Oni failed to produce enough milk to support her newborn.

The cute new arrival — which is said to be the UK's only baby aardvark — was born at the zoo on April 3 to Oni, 13, and 10-year-old dad Koos.

But conservationists have been forced to step in to help raise the naturally nocturnal animal and are now providing supplementary nightly feeds over several weeks.

Keepers have nicknamed the calf "Womble," after the creatures from the children's novels and popular TV show, thanks to its long snout, wrinkly hairless skin and large claws.

Zookeeper Sophie Tyson, who bottle-fed the calf every few hours throughout the night for several weeks, said: "Oni's new arrival is only the second aardvark to be born at the zoo in our 94-year history, so it's a really special addition for us all.

"While we don't yet know whether the calf is male or female, as it's a little too young for us to tell, the nickname 'Womble' has definitely stuck.

"With the calf's giant ears, long snout and playful personality, we think it's the perfect fit for the time being.

"Aardvarks spend their days sleeping and are most active at night, so while mom Oni heads off to forage for food, we've been giving the calf some extra support to help it grow stronger.

"For the first few weeks, we placed the youngster into a cozy incubator each evening and it was bottle-fed warm milk every few hours throughout the night before being carefully reunited back with mom each morning.

"Womble has gone from strength to strength and is doing brilliantly, so now lives full time back with mom Oni — and it's wonderful to see them snuggled up side-by-side together."

Chester Zoo says they are one of just a few organizations caring for the species with only 68 aardvarks in European zoos and just 114 worldwide.

Womble is the only aardvark calf to be born in the UK since 2024.

Aardvarks are native to sub-Saharan Africa, where they face threats from habitat loss because of agricultural development and they are also hunted for their meat.

They use their long snouts and heightened sense of smell to sniff out termites and ants, using their large powerful claws to dig them out of the ground.

Their long tongue, which measures 25 centimeters, helps them to lap up large numbers of bugs as quickly as possible.

Aardvark facts:

• Aardvarks are nocturnal mammals, meaning they sleep during the day and come out at night.
• Their name means "earth pig" in the Afrikaans language.
• Aardvarks are native to sub-Saharan Africa.
• They use their powerful claws to dig huge burrows and search for food underground.
• Their favorite foods are ants and termites, which they lap up using a sticky tongue that can reach 25cm long.
• Despite looking similar, aardvarks are not closely related to pigs, anteaters or armadillos.
• Aardvarks have large ears and an excellent sense of smell to help them find insects in the dark.
• They can close their nostrils while digging to stop dust and dirt getting up their noses.
• A fully grown aardvark can weigh up to 60kg.
• Aardvark babies are called calves and stay close to their moms during the first few months of life.