Busch Gardens Welcomes Baby Aardvark

From Busch Gardens:

 welcomed its newest resident last week: an aardvark born March 26. The healthy baby weighs about 4.8 pounds and is expected to grow to more than 120 pounds within its first year.

It is currently living behind the scenes at Jambo Junction—located in the Nairobi area of the park—and is receiving care from members of the .

The baby will join mom Izzy and dad Friz in the upcoming weeks and will be an animal ambassador for the park, along with its older brother Zawadi, who will be 1 year old on April 10. Animal ambassadors are animals that Busch Gardens handlers use to interact with the public to educate them about wildlife and conservation.

There are fewer than 40 aardvarks in zoos in North America. They are solitary by nature, and aardvark births are not common.

Learn more on Busch Gardens’ Facebook and Blog, or visit Busch Gardens online.