Detroit Zoo Has Another Cute Baby Aardvark

By Patricia Janeway 

Royal Oak, MI - For the second time in six months, the Detroit Zoo is celebrating the birth of an aardvark. Believed to be a male, the baby aardvark was born May 23, 2009, to Lily and Amybob and is called Erdferkel (German for aardvark). The Zoo will conduct a DNA test to confirm the sex.

Amani (Swahili for peace), a female, was born December 8, 2008, to Rachaael and Mchimbaji.

“We're excited about our second baby aardvark. Erdferkel is an active and growing baby and is already surpassing the development milestones we saw with Amani,” said Director of Conservation and Animal Welfare Scott Carter.

A second baby, a female, was stillborn on Thursday. “Multiple births in aardvarks are unusual and, in this case, even more so because the twin was born five days later,” said Carter.

Erdferkel weighed 4.8 pounds and measured 24 inches long at birth. Mature aardvarks can weigh from 90 to 145 pounds and grow 5 to 6 feet in length.

The aardvark (Orycteropus afer) is an African mammal whose name derives from the Afrikaans word “earth pig”. Due to the aardvark’s clumsy nature, veterinary and zookeeper staff are assisting Lily as they did Rachaael with raising the fragile baby to prevent the possibility of injury.

Erdferkel and Lily will remain in an off-exhibit area until he's big enough to go outside. Amani can be seen with the other aardvarks across from the giraffe habitat.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo. Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak. The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October (open at 9 a.m. May 1 through Labor Day) – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March. Admission is $11 for adults 15 to 61, $9 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7 for children ages 2 to 14; children under 2 are free. For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org. The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks. Admission is free. For more information, call (313) 852-4056.

To view Detroit Zoo's web page on Zoo and Aquarium Visitor, go to: http://www.zandavisitor.com/forumtopicdetail-472-Detroit_Zoo