Baby aardvark is born at Colchester Zoo

The new arrival was born last month at Colchester Zoo.

The baby is doing well and has been spending time with mum Oq and dad Afer.

A zoo spokesman said: "The new arrival is doing extremely well with mum being very attentive and keepers keeping a very close eye on them.

"The youngster has been spending time in the off show burrow with Oq whilst it continues to grow healthy and strong.

"The baby will gradually spend more time with dad and our other female Puq as it grows.

"Aardvarks like to huddle together when they sleep and can be clumsy sometimes rolling on top of one another so it is important that mum and baby are separate from the group until baby is big enough to handle a cuddle from the others."

Aardvarks are nocturnal which is why the group can usually be seen sleeping in their burrow during the day.

Their name means ‘Earth Pig’ in the Afrikaans language, with their long snout being similar to a pig in appearance.

This new arrival is fantastic news for the species with many of the group’s previous offspring having moved on to other collections around the world.