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The Tiniest Guest Is Discovered Hiding Near To The Trucker’s Wheel

A truck driver in Namibia saw a little anteater on one of his front wheels, leaning against one of the tires, while examining his vehicle for a trip. The driver searched for the boy’s mother but was unable to locate her.

He transported the young anteater to the trucking company’s headquarters, where he was given over to Dr. Erika de Jager, a local veterinarian and founder of ZURI Orphanage, a tiny orphaned animal rehabilitation organization.

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

Dr. De Jager named the young anteater ‘ET,’ since he had no hair on his body and was around two months old when he was discovered by the trucker.

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

According to Dr. de Jager, who spoke to The Dodo,

“For me, it was love at first sight.”

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

Dr. de Jager was overjoyed when the trucker brought her the little ET, who had a pink body and a large anteater nose. De Jager had never handled an anteater before, so it was a new experience for her.

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

Dr. De Jager went on to say:

“We had to try a number of different nipples, and we even gave him a local brand of kitten’s milk at first, but it didn’t work out for him.” We didn’t have a good notion what to feed him until we got some guidance from an Onderstepoort professor. So we began feeding him foreign milk, and he began to gain weight almost quickly.’

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

Dr. Erika had this to say:

“It’s a full-time job, and they have to be fed every two hours, just like a human baby.” I also had to take him for a walk to ensure that he was getting enough exercise.

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

When De Jager first introduced ET to his rescue dogs, Spokie and Zarah, they were taken aback by his looks, but they quickly warmed up to him, and more animal interaction was just what ET needed to heal his mental scars.

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

When De Jager witnessed how his dogs reacted to the tiny kid, he said:

“The dogs were interested in him and behaved as if he were another puppy; they are used to raising animals like goats and wild boars [at the orphanage], so it was nothing out of the ordinary for them.” They simply interacted with him as if he were one of them.

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

ET liked to sleep for extended periods of time when he was a baby, and his favorite napping spot was the orphanage dog beds.

According to Dr. De Jager,

“He slept like a baby with the dogs on their beds.”

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

ET used to follow Spokie and Zarah around everywhere when he first awoke, as if he believed he was just another dog.

According to De Jager:

“I don’t suppose ET understood it was an anteater if the dogs went on a stroll while ET was with them.” I believe he mistook it for a dog.

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

ET spent another five months in the ZURY refuge before being released into the wild.

According to De Jager:

“The introduction of ET was done in phases; initially, he was permitted to play outdoors for an hour, then four hours, and finally, he was left outside one night.”

ET has undoubtedly become a spokesperson for the anteater species; here’s a video of the tiny one in the shelter:

Despite his release, ET continues to see his adoptive mother and former playmates, and Dr. Erika says she is overjoyed every time she sees him.

CREDIT: ZURY ORPHANAGE

Et’s experience as a parent prepared the orphanage to receive additional instances similar to hers; later, she welcomed another baby anteater named ‘Gertie,’ who had also lost her mother and, like ET, enjoyed living among the other animals.