Connecticut zoo welcomes a baby giant anteater

September 12, 2018 12:00 am • Last Updated: September 12, 2018 12:07 am

This August 2018 photo provided by the Beardsley Zoo shows a baby male giant anteater with his mother, born on July 30 at the zoo in Bridgeport, Conn. Female anteaters give birth to one offspring at a time and the baby rides on the mother's back for the first several months of life. (Linda Tomas/Beardsley Zoo via AP)

BRIDGEPORT (AP) — Connecticut's only zoo has announced the birth of a baby giant anteater.

The Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport says the baby was born on July 30, is a male, and now weighs 9 pounds.

The parents, father EO and mother Pana, were brought to the zoo in 2015, with the hopes they might start a family.

They had their first baby in 2016. That anteater, Mochilla, is now in residence at Alexandria Zoo in Louisiana.

The zoo says the mother and baby are in seclusion most of the day, with brief forays into the outdoor habitat. Female anteaters give birth to one offspring at a time and the baby rides on the mother's back for the first several months of life.

The public is being encouraged to follow the baby's growth on the zoo's Facebook and Instagram pages.

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