Weighing a Baby Aardvark is Not Easy Cincinnati Zoomp4

aardvark

Three-month-old Winsol can now be seen in Night Hunters habitat

Cincinnati, OH (March 21, 2018)— Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's baby aardvark, named Winsol because he was born on the winter solstice, made his public debut this morning on a day that's more like winter than spring! After three months of bonding with mom behind the scenes, visitors can finally catch a glimpse of the oddly adorable, wrinkly baby and his mom, Ali, in their Night Hunters habitat.

"The aardvark care team closely supervised mom and baby during their first months together to make sure that Winsol was in the right position for nursing and didn't get stepped on or stuck under mom," said Mike Dulaney, curator of mammals at the Cincinnati Zoo. "The baby weighs more than 40 pounds now and has added solid foods to his diet, so we can be a little less hands on and allow him to explore his new environment."

Their habitat, which they share with giant fruit bats and galagos (aka bushbabies), has been babyproofed with extra bedding material.  Winsol will have to learn to navigate the uneven surfaces that he would typically encounter in a natural habitat.

Winsol is the first healthy aardvark baby to be born at the Zoo since 1994.  He weighed about three pounds at birth and will weigh up to 110 pounds when he's an adult.  Thirteen-year-old Ali weighs 112 pounds.

Because of the close relationship that the care staff has with these animals, the Zoo has been able to collect milk samples from Ali while Winsol nurses.  The samples have been sent to the Smithsonian's National Zoo Exotic Animal Milk Repository and will be used to create a recipe for synthetic aardvark milk.

Aardvarks are nocturnal mammals native to central and southern Africa. They have powerful claws that they use to rip open rock-hard termite mounds to obtain food and sweep their pig-like snouts from side to side to sniff out insects and lick them up with their long, sticky tongues. With long, donkey-like ears they are able to listen for signs of predators, like lions and leopards, while foraging for their own food.

Collaborating to create a recipe for aardvark milk

Cincinnati, OH (March 9, 2018) — Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is milking it. Whenever possible, the Zoo's animal care team gets milk from lactating moms so scientists can analyze the composition. In Fiona the hippo's case, knowing what was in her mom's milk saved her life.  Now, Ali the aardvark is making weekly deposits to the Smithsonian's National Zoo's Exotic Animal Milk Repository so scientists can create a recipe for synthetic aardvark milk!

"The aardvark care team has been closely supervising Ali and her baby, Winsol, since he was born.  Because of this, Ali is comfortable being touched and doesn't even seem to notice when she's being milked," said Barbara Henry, Cincinnati Zoo's curator of nutrition.  "Milk collection for other animals, like Fiona's mom Bibi, at our Zoo has also been voluntary and did not require anesthesia."

Bibi's milk sample was the first of its kind to be included in the milk repository. They do have one sample of aardvark milk that was deposited in 1992, but more samples from different animals gives a better picture of how variable the milk can be.  The care team has been milking Ali weekly since mid January and will continue to do so until Winsol is weaned.

"Milk composition changes during the lactation cycle, so providing the lab with samples collected over a period of weeks will help us replicate mom's milk for babies at different stages of development," said Henry.  "More animals and more time points will help us develop an aarvark formula with the right combination of sugar, protein, fat and water that can be used if a baby is not able to nurse from mom."

Winsol (born on the Winter Solstice) is the first healthy aardvark baby to be born at the Zoo since 1994.  He weighed about three pounds at birth and is now ten times that weight.  In addition to mom's milk, he is starting to try solid foods.

Cincinnati Zoo visitors will be able to see Winsol and Ali in the Night Hunter's habitat in a few weeks!  Check CincinnatiZoo.org for details on the public debut.

About Aardvarks

Aardvarks are nocturnal mammals native to central and southern Africa. They have powerful claws that they use to rip open rock-hard termite mounds to obtain food and sweep their pig-like snouts from side to side to sniff out insects and lick them up with their long, sticky tongues. They typically weigh between 88 and 145 pounds. With long, donkey-like ears they are able to listen for signs of predators, like lions and leopards, while foraging for their own food.

Wrinkly new resident epitomizes "so ugly it's cute"

Cincinnati, OH (January 5, 2018)— Ali, the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's 13-year-old female aardvark, gave birth to a baby boy on December 21, 2017.  Since then, mom and baby have been bonding behind the scenes with a little help from the Zoo's animal care team, who have named him Winsol because he was born on the winter solstice.

Neonate and aardvark care staff members are closely supervising mom and baby interactions during the day to ensure that Ali doesn't accidentally roll over or step on the infant.  "Aardvarks are notoriously clumsy, and we are intervening to make sure that nothing goes wrong. Other zoos have had success with this intensive rearing approach.  Ali is comfortable around people and doesn't seem to mind all the attention from her caregivers.  They sit with mom and baby all day and step in to reposition the calf when he's under foot or not in the right nursing position," said Mike Dulaney, curator of mammals at the Cincinnati Zoo.

The care team could be dedicated aardvark babysitters for two or three months.  As soon as the care team is confident that little Winsol can hold his own, he and Ali will move to the aardvark habitat in Night Hunters.  The calf's father, 23-year-old Diggy, is viewable there now.

Winsol is the first healthy aardvark baby to be born at the Zoo since 1994.  He weighed about three pounds at birth and has doubled that amount in two weeks. According to head neonate keeper Dawn Strasser, "He came out with personality!  He was active right away and walked about five days sooner than most aardvark babies do.  His ears also perked up days before most do."

Can't wait to see the wrinkly rascal?  Join us for a Facebook Live with Winsol and Ali this Monday at 10 a.m. to see the #AadorableAardvark and hear about his progress from his care team.

Aardvarks are nocturnal mammals native to central and southern Africa. They have powerful claws that they use to rip open rock-hard termite mounds to obtain food and sweep their pig-like snouts from side to side to sniff out insects and lick them up with their long, sticky tongues. They typically weigh between 88 and 145 pounds. With long, donkey-like ears they are able to listen for signs of predators, like lions and leopards, while foraging for their own food.

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Source: https://cincinnatizoo.org/news-tag/aardvark/