Zookeepers are celebrating the arrival of a new litter of four baby meerkats.
The mammals, which are part of the mongoose family, were born four weeks ago at Twycross Zoo in Leicestershire but have just started venturing out of their burrows.
The pups were born to mother Tallulah, although the keepers were not expecting quite so many newborns in one litter. Julian Chapman, team leader of large mammals at the zoo, said: “This is the largest litter of pups we’ve had in a few years.
“The pups are doing very well and mum is doing a great job caring for them, despite probably having her hands full.”
He added the pups were still dependent on milk from Tallulah but will have moved onto eating solids by about 60 days old.
Mr Chapman said: “Aunties and older sisters will help mum out with babysitting whilst she goes off to feed, and some of the other members of the family will stand on their hind legs keeping a look out for predators.
“The pups spent the first few weeks in their underground burrows and have just started venturing out. If you can’t see the pups, we advise our visitors to wait patiently.”
Meerkats are highly social animals, living in large families in desert burrows.