Harry Potter's Dobby is real now? Aardvark born in UK zoo after 90 years

In an almost magical event, after 90 years, an Aardvark, a nocturnal mammal native to Africa was born at the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom. Ironically, as per the report by BCC, the mammal was named after JK Rowling's Harry Potter character 'Dobby' due to its features resembling the fictional character in the series of having droopy ears and hairless wrinkled skin.

An aardvark in general is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlike most other insectivores, it has a long pig-like snout, which is used to sniff out food.

According to Chester Zoo, the calf was born on Jan 4th this year at the zoo and was identified to be a girl. "It's a girl. We are over the moon to reveal that our new aardvark calf Dobby is a baby girl," wrote Chester Zoo on its official handle.

For the conservationists at the zoo, it was overwhelming joy sprinkled across their faces as the team manager at the zoo revealed that there are only 66 aardvarks in zoos across Europe while only 109 in zoos worldwide. 

Aardvark, also has a sharp sense of smell and long noses to prey on termites and ants. Moreover, their sticky tongue also helps them to catch small insects. With their powerful claws, the aardvark can easily open termite mounds and even dig burrows which they use for sleeping.

For the calf to gain strength, the zookeepers gave her warm milk frequently while her parents were out for feeding in the evening and the conservationists took special care of the calf while keeping him in a special incubator when needed.