DNA tests confirm keepers’ expectations - the baby aardvark is a female!

DNA tests have shown that the young aardvark is a female. Author: Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

The little female, who was born in the African House on 20 August, is a great joy to her keepers. Immediately after birth she began to suckle breast milk and has been going from strength to strength ever since. Breeding aardvarks in captivity is difficult, and only a few of the world’s zoos manage it.

It isn’t easy to identify an aardvark’s gender. However, the keepers at the Prague Zoo guessed correctly and that has now been confirmed by DNA tests carried out by the Veterinary Research Institute in Brno. The aardvark’s name will be decided in an online public vote, which is taking place on the server Blesk.cz from today until Monday. The names that can be voted for were put forward by Prague Zoo’s keepers. You can choose from these five variants, which are based on Swahili and other African languages: Imara (Strong), Sawa (Correct), Mhanga (Aardvark), Nyota (Star), Imani (Faith).

The cub will be christened on Wednesday 28 September around 12 noon in the framework of the celebrations of the 85th anniversary of the opening of Prague Zoo. In addition to the little aardvark’s christening visitors can expect a day full of events – for example, the christening of a baby giraffe, musical performances by Sestry Havelkovy and the babypunk formation Kašpárek v rohliku, an installation from the film Journey to the Beginning of Time and the opening of the Unknown Zoo exhibition.