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Cincinnati Zoo welcomes baby tamandua

Caretakers will name the baby after they determine its sex.
Credit: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images
Tokyo, JAPAN: A three-month-old ant eater, Southern Tamandua, eats a slice of orange at the Sunshine International Aquarium in Tokyo 13 March 2006 as the zoo unveils the baby ant eater for public. The baby is the first born in a Japanese zoo. AFP PHOTO/YOSHIKAZU TSUNO

CINCINNATI (AP) - The Cincinnati Zoo has welcomed a baby tamandua.

Zoo officials announced on Christmas Eve that the pup was born to first-time mother Isla on Dec. 20. They say the baby tamandua needs to develop and won't make its public debut for another couple months.

The tamandua is a type of anteater, smaller than its more well-known relative. Experts say the long-snouted mammals can eat up to 9,000 ants in a day.   

Interpretive Animal Keeper Colleen Lawrence says the zoo had performed weekly ultrasounds on Isla since August. Lawrence says tamanduas can be pregnant for up 190 days.

Zoo spokeswoman Michelle Curley says the caretakers will name the baby tamandua after they learn the sex of the animal.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

12/25/2018 2:08:57 PM (GMT -5:00)

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