Our seven-year-old male anteater Ernesto has a new companion and animal keepers are hoping they have a bright future together.

Inti, a two-year-old female anteater from Aalborg Zoo in Denmark, arrived at Marwell at the end of August. Ernesto and Inti have been next door neighbours for the last month, whilst keepers assessed their reaction to one another.

But this week, we decided it was time to for the two to meet face to face, and they are getting on brilliantly!

Marwell is part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) for giant anteaters.

These animals are native to Central and South America and face many threats in the wild.

A population loss of at least 30% over the past 10 years has been estimated based on local extinctions, habitat loss, and deaths caused by fires and vehicles.

To watch a video of our anteaters meeting for the first time visit www.youtube.com/marwellwildlife

 

29 September 2011