New Baby Aardvark Picks His Name

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New baby aardvark picks his name with a little help from his keepers at Colchester Zoo!

Colchester Zoo’s new male baby Aardvark has been named “Scorch” after he picked his name out of a bucket – with a little help from his keepers! His name was decided after all the zoo keeper’s added their best suggestions to a bucket and keepers gave him a helping hand to decide. Scorch joins the growing list of baby Aardvarks to have been born at Colchester Zoo which all have a dragon related name; Puff, Magic, Kiyo, Draco and Tatsu.

The baby aardvark was born to mum Oq and dad Adela on the 7th February 2011 and was kept in a specially built birthing burrow following the birth, to keep the baby protected from any accidental knocks or bumps from the other adult aardvarks. Oq and Adele are one of the most successful breeding groups in Europe and are the only successful aardvark group to breed in the UK.

Aardvarks only give birth to one baby at a time and although the babies will start eating solid foods at 3 months, they still suckle from their mother right up until 4 months of age. At six months the young male aardvarks are completely independent from their mother and will be competent enough to go off on their own.

In the wild the aardvarks are found in Africa and are a solitary nocturnal animal. They have a long sticky tongue and live on a diet that is mostly comprised of ants and termites. In western Africa they are hunted for their meat, hide and teeth and are threatened by habitat loss as a result of agricultural development.

Zoo Curator Sarah Forsyth said “Scorch and the other aardvarks can be seen sleeping in the aardvark burrow during the day. However the zoo is having late night openings on June 4th, July 23rd and August 20th which will give visitors an opportunity to see the aardvarks when they are out and about in the evening.”




EssexTouristGuide.com 17th May 2011

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