Meet Dobby – the FIRST ever baby aardvark to be born at the zoo! ❤️️

An aardvark has been born at the zoo, for the first time in our 90 year history!

We were overjoyed to discover the new arrival snuggled up with mum Oni (8) and dad Koos (6) after it had been born overnight on 4 January.

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 sex of the new calf is yet to be determined but staff have nicknamed the youngster Dobby due to its resemblance to the much-loved Harry Potter character.

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.

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 bring them into conflict with local farmers. They are also hunted for their meat.

The word aardvark translates to “earth pig” in the language of Afrikaans. The nocturnal animals use their long noses and keen sense of smell to sniff out ants and termites, which they lap up with a long tongue measuring up to 25cm, covered in sticky saliva. Aardvarks use their powerful claws to tear open termite mounds, as well as to dig underground burrows in which they sleep.