ISRAEL: Safari park in Israel celebrates birth of anteater baby, as bears cool off in the hot sun

Record ID: 396117

  • Title: ISRAEL: Safari park in Israel celebrates birth of anteater baby, as bears cool off in the hot sun
  • Date: 19th May 2009
  • Summary: RAMAT GAN, ISRAEL (MAY 18, 2009) (REUTERS) ZOO KEEPER TEMPTING FEMALE ANTEATER 'BONYIA' TO LEAVE HIDING PLACE AND SHOW HERSELF TO ZOO VISITORS FEMALE ANTEATER WALKING IN ENCLOSURE WITH CUB ON HER BACK ANTEATER'S TONGUE WHILE EATING FROM BOWL VARIOUS OF ANTEATER SITTING AND EATING, WHILE BABY HOLDING ONTO HER FUR 'BONYIA' WALKING AWAY FROM CAMERA AS BABY HOLDS ONTO HER
  • Embargoed: 3rd June 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Israel
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA8UH82L8RMPNBEKMDI88S15IX6
  • Story Text: Despite the sweltering heat, Israel's Safari park on Monday (May 18) introduced to the public for the first time its latest addition to their mammal enclosure - an anteater cub.
    Arthur the baby anteater was named after the famous TV series hero, Arthur the Aardvark. He was born weighing in at 1.3 kg (2.8 pounds) to mother Bonyia and father Termite, in the Latin American yard of the zoo. Romance has flourished between Bonyia, who was brought to the zoo from Singapore, and Termite, who arrived from Poland.
    "Two weeks ago we had a Giant Anteater birth, it's very very rare in captivity to have an anteater born. There is only a little over 200 anteaters in zoos today around the world so we were very fortunate to have one born here," zoo keeper Gali Berkowitz told Reuters Television.
    Anteater's pregnancy lasts seven full months, and females give birth while standing. Immediately after the birth baby anteaters climb on to their mother's backs, and try to camouflage themselves in her fur.
    "Like anteaters in the wild he will hang on to his mother's back for about until that age (6 months), she will carry him around on (her) back. Fortunately she is a very very good mother. She usually stands still until he has a full grip on her, and that's when she will start walking," Berkowitz said proudly.
    Arthur is expected to nurse for the next six months, and later will feed on mashed fruit, milk, dog food and honey. Arthur will also be fed with peat, which helps an anteater's digestion. In nature, anteaters eat approximately 30,000 ants and termites per day, and in captivity finding a suitable diet for them is considered a great challenge for zoo keepers. The anteater is toothless, and uses it's 60-centimetre-long (23 inch) tongue to feed. The tongue is connected to the breast muscles, and can flicker in and out of the anteater's mouth 150 times per minute! Anteaters are indigenous to Latin American forests.
    Also on Monday (May 18), as temperatures in Israel climbed towards 104 Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius), zoo keepers chilled the Safari inhabitants with large ice cubes and frozen fruit. The bears seemed to be the ones most enjoying the treat, also containing frozen fish and chicken.
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