AN anteater baby has been born at Colchester Zoo.The baby giant anteater was born to mother Furai earlier this month and has been named Silver because of its striking characteristic silver stripes.

AN anteater baby has been born at Colchester Zoo.

The baby giant anteater was born to mother Furai earlier this month and has been named Silver because of its striking characteristic silver stripes.

However it is not yet known what sex the baby is and keepers are currently keeping their distance while Furai and Silver bond.

Anthony Tropeano, curator at the zoo, said: “This birth is a great success story for us.

“It is a species that we have waited an awful long time to be able to house at Colchester Zoo and so we are absolutely delighted that the two have come together so successfully and that we already have our first baby Anteater at Colchester Zoo.”

Furai, who is two-and-a-half-year-old, was brought to Colchester from Zurich Zoo in February to join Gilberto, the zoo's male and the two successfully mated.

Baby Silver will stay on its mother's back for the next six month, until it is half her size.