The Kid Should See This.

Brookfield Zoo is happy to announce the birth of an aardvark on January 12, 2012. Because of the dedicated care provided by the Society’s zookeepers, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and nutritionist, the now healthy 13-pound calf has a bright future ahead of it… 

For several weeks following its birth, the calf spent nights at the zoo’s Animal Hospital being cared for by the veterinary staff and brought back to its mom in the mornings. Aardvarks are nocturnal and [its mother] sleeps during the day, giving the calf uninterrupted time to nurse and get all the nutrients it can from its mother’s milk. This scenario mimics what would take place in the wild: a mother aardvark would leave its burrow to go forage for food during the night and return in the morning to sleep while the calf nurses.

Aardvarks are native to Africa and eat mostly ants and termites. One interesting note about aardvark babies is that zookeepers won’t know if the calf is a boy or a girl until it is about one year old.

via Neatorama.