Aardvarks

Poznan Zoo has kept an aardvark between 1995 and 2002, this was the older male from Saarbrücken, which was send to Arnheim and then to Poznan. It has never bred.

Poznan will get new aardvarks, but I don't knwo when. Pilsen will also start with aardvarks.

The keeping of aardvarks in europe was and is not very successful. Between 1946 and 1982 27.33.4 aardvarks from africa were imporetd two europe and 2 zooborn males from the USA. Only 9.11 of these animals has bred, so all european aardvarks are relateted to this twenty animals.

Between 1968 and 2005 90 aardvarks were born, most of them in Arnheim,Frankfurt,Amsterdam and Praha, but only a few of them could be raised. mortiality of the babies is very high.

Its very urgent to get new bloof for europe, the aardvarks at the USA are not related to the europeans, but unfortunately, most of the american aardvark holders are not interetsted to send aardvarks to europe, and its impossible to get them from africa.

In germany, aardvarks are kept in Berlin Zoo, who has a second birth in june 2008, but it was deadborn. The first young, born in 2007, died after three days. Frankfurt has them, but all youngs are born after 2005 were still or deadborn or died shortly after the birth. Saarbrücken has them in the most worst enclosure for them I've ever seen. I've postetd some photos in the gallery.

Leipzig was interested in aardvarks to keep them together with merkats in a normal exhibit, but I don't know why they didn't.
 
There are plans to bring aardvarks to Blackpool zoo in the UK soon.

At Kessingland, the indoor aardvark exhibit forms part of the nocturnal house (the indoor glass fronted shed area), while a small walled sand yard forms the outdoor exhibit. There are glass windows at the front of the yard. The exhibit was pretty bare when I saw it; the indoor area is just a concrete floor covered in shallow substrate. The original two females were the London zoo animals which left at the start of the 90s. I've no idea if they are still alive or if they have since died and been replaced.
 
Kessingland got his first two aardvarks in 1996, the female "Elspeth" came from London to Banham in 1991 and from there to Kessingland, the male " Grisu" was born 1991 in Frankfurt, was send to Banham and came from Banham to Kessingland.

Unfortunately, he died in 1997 and " Elspeth" was send back to Banham, but she died during the transport.

Kessingland got new aardvarks in 1999, they came also from Banham. The female "Ellie" was born in Frankfurt in 1998, the female"Edwina", she came from London to Banham also, and the male"Afer", he was born in Arnhem in 1991.

"Edwina" had a stillbirth in 2000 and she died in 2005, after she has lived for 25 years in captivity ! She was captured as fullgrown animal and came to London in 1980.
 
Thanks for You all for the infos … and Zebraduiker, thanks for the photos in the Gallery.

There is a preferred time to births in the wild, actually the Aardvarks give birth in the rainy season, which depends on the geographical latitude. According the database with 35 specimens that lived in given zoos since the 1960s clearly showed that the births take place during the whole year with no preference for a certain month or season … consequently the lack of the controlled captive environment in several case …

Zebraduiker, Do You know some details of the husbandry at Berlin (f.e. change of the day lenght or the temperature seasonally)?

Who is the pair of M Plucky at Berlin Zoo?

According one survey (with the participation of ten zoos: four European, four North American and two Japan institutions) showed that the survival rate is around 72% (succesful breeding meant that the offspring live more than 30 days). But I think this is not a very representative result (because the low number of the participating zoos and on the basis that You wrote) …

Does anybody know where will the specimens arrive from to Blackpool?

And an archive photo from Budapest Zoo (just a matter of curiosity, taken from the Süni Magazine 04/2006)
 

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New male aardvark at Africa Alive

Their web-site reports the arrival of male Quigley from Burgers Zoo , Arnhem , to hopefully breed with their 2 females as male Afer has not bred .

Also twin crowned lemurs born .
 
Zebraduiker said:
Kessingland got new aardvarks in 1999, they came also from Banham. The female "Ellie" was born in Frankfurt in 1998, the female"Edwina", she came from London to Banham also, and the male"Afer", he was born in Arnhem in 1991.

"Edwina" had a stillbirth in 2000 and she died in 2005, after she has lived for 25 years in captivity ! She was captured as fullgrown animal and came to London in 1980.
Click to expand...

Do you know who the second female is at Africa alive? - the one that replaced Edwina to make 1.2 again.

Also, would anyone know if they are keeping Afer alongside the new male, or is he moving to another collection?
 
As far as i understood, Arnhem, Colchester and Antwerp switched males. The one from Arnhem went to the UK, UK to Antwerp and Antwerp to Arnhem. But i think somewhere along the line Suffolk comes in, perhaps it was suffolk and not Colchester that swapped males, or perhaps Suffolk was also included in the switch...
 
Aardvarks at London Zoo

A new exhibit will be opened on the 3rd of April at London Zoo, named Animal Adventure. In the Root Zone of it there will be a tunnel network to exhibit underground animals, for example Aardvarks.

BTW, the Aardvarks were arrived to London Zoo in November 2008.
 
Good news from Poland, Wroclaw zoo has imported a pair of aardvark from Tanzania, into their collection.
This should bring some much needed new genetic material into the European population.
Pictures of the pair are in the gallery.
 
The specimens at Tbilisi Zoo also bring a new bloodline into the European population... these animals are wild-captured as well.
 
I'm curious how the tbilisi animals will do. They stayed inside for all winter and although ok in size it just has a concrete floor. Luckily the outside enclosure is a lot bigger and with a lot of digging opportunities :)
 
I guess in exhibit proper for species, nobody would ever see an aardvark! It spends all day underground in the wild and builds enormously long burrows.
 
New arrivals

Newer Aardvark pair arrived into Europe, to Györ Zoo, Hungary. The animals arrived from a Tanzanian zoo and they will be on public display from the 1st of May.
 
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Orycteropus said:
Newer Aardvark pair arrived into Europe, to Györ Zoo, Hungary. The animals arrived from a Tanzanian zoo and they will be on public display from the 1st of May.
Click to expand...

The animals are on public display for a while, in a mixed exhibit: the Aardvarks share their exhibit with Egyptian Fruit Bats.
 
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