It has been a busy summer for Belfast Zoo with the arrival of not one, not two, but three new litters.
Last month the zoo welcomed the pitter patter of tiny penguin chicks, pudu deer fawns and prairie dog pups alongside Ballygeorge the giraffe calf.
And good news for animals lovers - you can already spot the newest arrivals playing in their enclosures.
Zoo Manager, Alyn Cairns, said: "We are always thrilled to announce breeding success at Belfast Zoo. More species are facing extinction than ever before and one of our primary aims is to play an active role in conservation to ensure the survival of species under threat.
"We take part in 60 collaborative breeding programmes with zoos located around the world. We are delighted to share the births of our southern pudu, gentoo penguins, black tailed prairie dogs alongside our other recent arrival, Ballygeorge the giraffe.
"Visitors can see our newest arrivals daily during the summer and we have no doubt that they will be firm favourites with many visitors.”
The zoo has welcomed 13 gentoo penguin chicks to the Belfast Zoo ‘waddle’ - the term used to describe a group of penguins on land.
Both parents play an active role in incubating eggs for around 30 to 40 days. When the chicks first hatch they are covered in fluffy feathers, however the gentoo species grow extremely quickly and some of the new chicks are already moulting in preparation for their adult plumage.
There has also been a great “pup”ulation boom to the black-tailed prairie dog colony at the zoo with an estimated 17 pups born last month.
Prairie dogs mate once a year and the pups are born blind, only emerging from their burrows at around six weeks old.
The zoo is also celebrating the birth of the world’s smallest deer, the Southern pudu. At birth a pudu fawn is so small that it only weighs about 900g - which is less than a bag of sugar.
When fully grown the southern pudu, which originates from Chile, will only reach 43 centimetres in height and weigh around 12kg.
Southern pudu’s are born with a light brown colour and their fur is covered with small white spots.
You can ‘fawn’ over the latest baby boom at the zoo daily from 10am until 6pm - with last admissions at 5pm.
Belfast Zoo tickets can be bought online here.
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