Two meerkat pups born on 18 August have just started venturing out of their nest box at Taronga Zoo in Australia. The pups are the second litter born this year at the Sydney zoo, who have described it as a "meerkat baby boom".

The parents of both litters are Nairobi and Maputo. Though the sex of the new arrivals is not yet known, the two will join their older siblings Lwazi, a boy, and Serati, a girl, who were born in January.

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Taronga Zoo keeper, Courtney Mahony, said that the two seemed more "confident and adventurous" than their older siblings: "I think that's because they have mum, dad and two siblings to support and protect them".

Keepers suspect that the two are female and have been giving the pups regular health checks as well as weighing them to make sure they are healthy and comfortable. The zoo said that two have been growing quickly, while only being a few grams at birth, they're now both over 150g and are starting to eat solid foods.

The pups will be slowly introduced to visitors each day for short periods of time under the watchful gaze of their keepers and parents.

Australia