Three bundles of joy are set to open their eyes for the first time at Easter and are an extra special arrival for keepers at Longleat in Wiltshire who are hand-rearing the triplets.
They are the only Fennec Fox kits to have been recorded as born in the UK Zoos and Safari Parks in the last 12 months and with only around 40 per cent of babies surviving to adulthood, an essential addition to the international breeding programme for the species.
The one boy and two girls – yet to be named – make up 10 per cent of global births in zoos around the world in the last 10 months.
It is the fourth litter for mum Zuri and dad Enzi and their arrival is tinged with sadness for the keepers who also hand reared the third litter from birth last year that did sadly did not survive to adulthood despite the best efforts of the keepers.
Catriona Moy, Team Manager of Animal Adventure and Lakes, said: “We always knew raising baby kits would be a challenge as very few young fennec foxes survive to adulthood.”
She is sharing the sleepless nights with lead keepers Samantha Peeke and Abbi Wheeler, as Zuri doesn’t produce enough colostrum or milk to feed the babies; one left with her after her first two litters died within hours.
Samantha said: “The babies in this litter were just 46 grams when they were born and in 12 days have already doubled in size. They are having feeds now every three hours and we are expecting them to open their eyes for the first time within days, which will be around Easter time.
“It is a difficult decision to remove the babies, but we know that Zuri does not have the resources herself to successfully rear the kits and hand rearing, while a last resort, is their best chance,” she added.
The birth of the kits is important for the European breeding programme as with the pairing of Zuri and Enzi, the blood line is not represented elsewhere in the UK.
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