Anteater born at Schönbrunn Zoo

Last NovemberSchönbrunn Zoo celebrated the offspring of the adult anteaters, and now visitors of the zoo can visit the baby anteater.

The anteater female Ilse gave birth after 190 days of pregnancy to the baby anteater named “Mocoa” by the zoo caretakers on Sunday the 22nd of April.

“Ilse is 16 years old and she is an experienced mother. She gave birth to and raised twins successfully in 2000. This was a world premier,” explains Dagmar Schratter, Zoo Director.

It is important to check if the young animal recognises the fur of its mother. “In typical anteater manner, the little one rides on the mother’s back. The best part of the day is spent sleeping beneath her bushy tail. The baby also suckles from this position during the first month,” says. The baby weighs 1450 grams and is 35 centimetres tall.

The anteater male Hombrecito has also grown much during the last five months. He weighs five kilograms and leaves the back of his mother Emilia more often, to explore the South American Park on his own.

The father of both young animals is Silva, who was transferred from Colchester Zoo to Vienna in 2010. Anteaters are endamgered in their homelands in Central- and South America, and the Schönbrunn Zoo is a part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EPP) – an initiative started to preserve endangered species all over the world.