Meet ‘Dobby,’ the first aardvark born at UK’s Chester Zoo

A zoo in the United Kingdom is celebrating the birth of an aardvark for the first time in the facility’s history. And the calf has been named for a beloved character from the “Harry Potter” books and movies.

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The Chester Zoo announced the birth of the aardvark in a news release. The calf, born on Jan. 4, was nicknamed Dobby because it resembles the house-elf character in the “Harry Potter” franchise, the BBC reported. The aardvark has oversized ears, wrinkled skin and is hairless, the news outlet reported.

“As soon as we spotted the new baby next to mum we noticed its uncanny resemblance to the ‘Harry Potter’ character, Dobby, and so that’s the calf’s nickname for the time being,” the zoo’s team manager, Dave White, said in a statement.

The sex of the calf has yet to be determined, the zoo stated in its release. It is being hand-reared daily by zookeepers, according to the release.

“Aardvark parents are notorious for being a little clumsy around their newborns. With the baby being so tiny and fragile, we’re therefore protecting it from any accidental knocks and bumps by helping mum out with supplementary feeding sessions throughout the night, just until the calf is a little stronger,” White said in the zoo’s news release. “So, in the evening, when the parents are out exploring and feeding, we carefully place the calf into a special incubator and take it home to feed with warm milk every few hours.”

There are only 66 aardvarks in zoos across Europe and 109 in zoos worldwide, the BBC reported.

“It is a momentous landmark for us and a real cause for celebration,” White said in a statement. “We’re overjoyed.”

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