A Chinese pangolin who was born at the Prague Zoo made history as the first of its species to be born in Europe.
The critically endangered animal in captivity, which was nicknamed “Little Cone” because it resembles a spruce cone, arrived on Feb. 2.
The little one came right before World Pangolin Day, which was celebrated on Feb. 18 this year.
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The female baby animal’s birth weight was just 4.76 ounces. Adult pangolins can reach up to 15 pounds.
For the first few days after its birth, Little Cone was losing weight, which concerned zookeepers.
After realizing her mother was not producing enough milk, they opted to feed the newborn artificially.
“However, we have only overcome the first difficulties and there are still more to come,” Zoo Director Miroslav Bobek said on the park’s website. “Hopefully everything will end well.”
The Chinese pangolin, a scaly anteater, is native to the northern Indian subcontinent, northern parts of Southeast Asia and southern China.
It is on the endangered list largely due to mass poaching.
Inhabitants of China eat its meat and use its scales as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.
With Post wires