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Armani, a giant anteater at LEO Zoological Center in Greenwich, Connecticut gave birth to a baby, named Archie. Only one problem, there was no male around, so how did this happen?
Armani did, apparently, previously give birth to a baby named Alice, after a rendezvous with Alf, a male anteater at LEO. However, as male anteaters are known to kill and eat their offspring, LEO separated Armani and Alf for several months. So she was alone. No male close by.
One morning in April a worker went into Armani's enclosure and received quite a shock. At some stage during the previous night, Armani had given birth to another baby and baby Archie may be wondering who his daddy is.
While thinking this must be a virgin birth (or parthenogenesis, as it is known), it turns out that animals conceived this way do not actually have a father.
Apparently, this is even a surprisingly common occurrence in the animal kingdom, in cases where there is no male around, and the female gets a tad broody. What happens is that the embryo grows and develops, without the aid of fertilization by a male.
Reportedly, a number of different animals have reproduced this way, but it is more common in invertebrates (such as water fleas, parasitic wasps, and bees) and only certain types of vertebrates (fish, amphibians, and occasionally birds).
So it is still reasonably unusual in the world of the giant anteater.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/350934#ixzz2UUrAbCpR
Armani did, apparently, previously give birth to a baby named Alice, after a rendezvous with Alf, a male anteater at LEO. However, as male anteaters are known to kill and eat their offspring, LEO separated Armani and Alf for several months. So she was alone. No male close by.
One morning in April a worker went into Armani's enclosure and received quite a shock. At some stage during the previous night, Armani had given birth to another baby and baby Archie may be wondering who his daddy is.
While thinking this must be a virgin birth (or parthenogenesis, as it is known), it turns out that animals conceived this way do not actually have a father.
Apparently, this is even a surprisingly common occurrence in the animal kingdom, in cases where there is no male around, and the female gets a tad broody. What happens is that the embryo grows and develops, without the aid of fertilization by a male.
Reportedly, a number of different animals have reproduced this way, but it is more common in invertebrates (such as water fleas, parasitic wasps, and bees) and only certain types of vertebrates (fish, amphibians, and occasionally birds).
So it is still reasonably unusual in the world of the giant anteater.
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/350934#ixzz2UUrAbCpR
