ORPHANED BABY AARDVARK, WHOSE MOM WAS MURDERED BY A FARMER, IS BEING RAISED BY A NATURE PRESERVE - Barkie even wears a pyjamas at night

 

Little Barkie was less than three months old when he was found in Namibia

Staff at N/a'an ku sê sanctuary take termite-loving creature for daily walks

He even has a pair of 'pyjamas' to keep his near-hairless body warm at night

Aardvarks are common in large parts of Africa but they come into conflict with farmers, because they often dig holes through which livestock can escape into predators' jaws.

 

When female aardvarks are shot their young are left vulnerable, because they need their mothers for the first six months of their lives. 

 

Staff said Barkie is now recovering well on a healthy foraged diet of termites and other insects.  

 

A spokesperson for the sanctuary said: 'The killing of aardvarks is tragically a common occurrence in Nambia, where farmers and landowners heavily depend on their livestock to eke a living out of this desert land.  The natural burrowing and digging behaviour of aardvark inadvertently causes holes in fences that allow the livestock to escape, making them vulnerable to free-roaming carnivores."

 

Read more and see additional pictures of Barkie - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2732501/Nose-place-like-home-Orphaned-baby-aardvark-mother-shot-farmer-saved-nature-reserve.html

Photos - Andrew Bowden - Africa Geographic - Caters - Daily Mail

 

More on aardvarks - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aardvark

 

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