Surprise Giant Anteater Pup Born At Nashville Zoo On Christmas

NASHVILLE, TN -- Nothing says Christmas like a brand new anteater.

A keeper at the Nashville Zoo and a docent walked into the zoo's anteater barn Christmas morning and found a tiny new addition. Curled under the belly fur of Consuela, one of the female adult anteaters, was a newborn pup.

Appropriately, given her birthday, the new pup is named Noel. Baby and mom are both doing well.

The Nashville Zoo is one of the world's leaders in anteater breeding. Linus and Lucy were the zoo's first breeding pair, arriving in 2001. Since then, 20 anteater cubs have been born at the zoo.

Photo via Nashville Zoo