News Animals Zoo Welcomes Baby Aardvark to the Family By Noel Kirkpatrick Writer Georgia State University Young Harris College Noel Kirkpatrick is an editor and writer based in Tacoma, Washington. He covers many topics including science and the environment. our editorial process Noel Kirkpatrick Updated July 19, 2019 Share Twitter Pinterest Email News Environment Business & Policy Science Animals Home & Design Current Events Treehugger Voices No, this isn't some new creature from "The Last Jedi." It's a newborn aardvark at the Cincinnati Zoo, and it's adorable. The zoo announced the birth of the aardvark on Christmas — a special present to all animal lovers — but it was actually born Dec. 21. "Peace on Earth! Ali the aardvark and her 4-day-old baby boy will spend the holidays cuddling and bonding behind the scenes," the zoo posted on its social media accounts, including Facebook. The wrinkly-but-cute advark (Orycteropus afer) weighs around 3 pounds, which is normal for the species at this stage. According to the zoo, mature aardvarks typically weigh between 88 and 143 pounds and they live for about 10 years. So this little charmer has plenty of time to keep warming our hearts.