Chester Zoo keepers helped raise a newborn aardvark by bottle-feeding it warm milk every few hours through the night after its mother, Oni, was not producing enough milk to fully support the youngster. The calf, nicknamed Womble, is now living full-time back with mum after several weeks of round-the-clock care.

The animal was healthy when it was born, but keepers stepped in to give supplementary feeds throughout the night and placed it into a cosy incubator each evening for the first few weeks. Each morning, the calf was carefully reunited with Oni before the pair were later fully reunited, according to the zoo.

That makes Womble the only aardvark calf born in the UK since 2024 and only the second aardvark ever born at Chester Zoo in its 94-year history. The birth is a rare one in captivity too, with just 68 aardvarks in European zoos and 114 worldwide.

Sophie Tyson, from the zoo, said Oni's new arrival was a particularly special addition because it is only the second aardvark to be born there in the zoo's 94-year history. She said keepers still do not know whether the calf is male or female because it is too young to tell, but the nickname Womble has stuck.

Tyson said the name suits the youngster's giant ears, long snout and playful personality, and reflected the way the species is cared for after dark. Aardvarks sleep during the day and are most active at night, so while Oni heads out to forage, keepers have been giving the calf extra support to help it grow stronger.

The species itself faces a tougher reality far beyond the zoo. Aardvarks are native to sub-Saharan Africa, where habitat loss linked to agricultural development is a significant threat, and they are also hunted for meat in the wild.

Known in Afrikaans as an earth pig, the aardvark uses a long snout and a strong sense of smell to track termites and ants, then digs them out of the ground with large claws. Its tongue can stretch to 25 centimetres, one of the features that helps it feed quickly once it finds a nest.

Tyson said Womble has gone from strength to strength and is doing brilliantly, with the calf now snuggled side by side with Oni full time. For Chester Zoo, the birth is more than a cute arrival: it is a small but meaningful addition to a species that remains uncommon in zoos and faces pressure in the wild.