Ali the Aardvark Gives Birth to Itty-Bitty Baby at Cincinnati Zoo

While Fiona the premature hippo may be the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden’s shining star, a tiny baby aardvark has just asked her to share the spotlight.

In a Christmas Facebook post, the wildlife institution announced the birth of the baby boy.

“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 Monday. “The newborn is doing well and weighs a little over three pounds, which is in the normal range for this species. We’ll keep you posted with photos and videos of the newest addition to the Zoo family.”

The zoo also shared an adorable video of the snoozing aardvark next to his mom behind the scenes.

“It doesn’t get much cuter than a 5 day old baby aardvark taking a nap. Ali and her new baby boy are cuddling and bonding behind the scenes at this time,” the post read.

Cincinnati.com reports that aardvarks like Ali and her new baby weigh between 88 to 143 lbs. and live for about 10 years — so 11-year-old Ali must be a special exception to the rule. These two sweet representatives of the species live in the zoo’s Night Hunters exhibit.

At press time, the video of the snuggly pink aardvark had over 100,000 views within an hour of the video’s posting.

The Cincinnati Zoo is famous for its zoo babies, especially after successfully delivering a premature hippopotamus earlier this year and nursing her to a healthy weight. Fiona the hippo was born two months early in January at only 29 pounds, half the weight of a normal baby hippo. Within weeks, Fiona was on her feet and taking her first steps, a huge milestone for zookeepers who first worried she would not survive.

Today, Fiona weighs 622 pounds, which is the norm for young hippos her age.

Already an author, in August Fiona proved she was a TV star as well with the premiere episode of her Facebook series The Fiona Show.

Only time will tell if the baby aardvark will become as big a star as Fiona, but in the meantime we’re keeping our fingers crossed for an adorable show co-starring both.