Baby Anteater Loves Her New Teddy Bear Mama (WATCH)

Beanie the newborn giant anteater was rejected by her birth parents – so instead, she’s being hand-reared by the zoo and a big fluffy teddy bear.

When Beanie was born in December, her mother Inca was unable to care for her so ZSL London Zoo officials stepped in to help.

Since baby anteaters typically spend their first few months clinging to their mothers back, Zookeeper Amy Heath has taken to carrying Beanie around on her shoulders. When its time for the youngster to go to sleep, she snuggles up with her teddy bear mama instead.

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Zookeeper Amy said: “ZSL London Zoo is home to a group of giant anteaters, male Bonito and his female mates, Inca and Sauna. We were delighted when we discovered Inca was pregnant; but unfortunately she rejected the infant so we’ve stepped in to help until the baby is big enough to go back in with her parents.

“Hand-rearing an animal is an amazing privilege, but it’s hard work too; we’ve been bottle-feeding Beanie every two to three hours with special replacement milk and making sure she’s kept warm at night with a temperature-controlled incubator.”

When Beanie is six months old, she will be reintroduced to her family and will hopefully be properly socialized by one of the more experienced mother anteaters.

(WATCH the video below)

 

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