Olomouc, North Moravia, Sept 12 (CTK) – The male southern tamandua that arrived in the Olomouc zoo last year with the important task to father an offspring has scored success as his partner, Tara, gave birth to a healthy young female last week, the zoo’s spokeswoman Katerina Breckova has told CTK.
The Olomouc zoo is the only zoo in the Czech Republic and Slovakia that has succeeded in breeding the species.
The new arrival is already the seventh young tamandua to be born in Olomouc since 2003 when the zoo launched the breeding.
“The father, Hector, came to us from Opole, Poland, last November. We borrowed him in order to unite him with Tara,” Breckova said.
She said Hector came very frightened from Poland where he spent time with a dominating female that often dealt blows to him with her mighty paws.
Olomouc’s Tara, on her part, showed tolerance towards Hector. Shortly after his arrival, she allowed him to share the food dish with her.
“Tara was born in 2008 as the second young tamandua in our zoo. The newborn female is her fourth offspring. According to available information, only four southern tamanduas have been born in Europe this year,” Breckova said.
The southern tamandua, a skilled tree climber weighing up to 8.5 kg, is a common species in the wild, but their breeding in captivity is difficult even for renowned zoological gardens, which experts ascribe to the lack of termites in their food.
