Whipsnade Zoo's newest addition, an adorable baby porcupine, has been making itself at home.
Born on August 20, visitors have been lucky enough to see the spiky youngster out and about feeding during the day, while the zoo's night-vision cameras have captured playful moments with mum Kimya.
"Porcupines are mostly nocturnal, so they usually venture out when the sun starts to set, but thankfully we have night vision cameras which helps us to monitor the prickly mammals even when we’re not on the ground,” said keeper Steve Merrick-White.
"We suspected mum, Kimya, was pregnant, after being matched with male porcupine Winga in May. And, lo and behold, our keepers had a magical surprise when, 94 days later, we saw Kimya, give birth to the porcupette."
The family are Cape porcupines, nocturnal rodents native to central and southern Africa. They are the largest of all the porcupine species and Africa’s second largest rodent.
What is not know yet is the baby's gender, with Steve continuing: "We won’t know whether the porcupette is male or female until its first vet check up in a few months' time, but the new addition is very bold and sassy.
"They even wandered over to the meerkat enclosure for a sleepover one night."
While daytime visitor are able to see the porcupine's snoozing, those who stay at Whipsnade's overnight experience, Lookout Lodge, have caught a special glimpse of the newest addition.
"Sleepovers at the Zoo enable visitors unparalleled access to the animals and includes a sunset tour, a torch-lit nighttime tour and a morning tour," said visitor experiences manager, Cat Howes.
"The baby porcupine has been very curious, investigating what’s for dinner before scurrying back to mum.
"Seeing a baby porcupine when it’s only a few days old is just one of the once-in-a-lifetime experiences' visitors get when they stay overnight at the conservation Zoo. You never know what you will see."
In addition to meeting the new porcupine family after dark, Lookout Lodge visitors can help feed aardvarks Dobby and Terry, catch a glimpse of our new pride of lions – Waka, Winta and Malik – and learn about our multi-generation chimpanzee family as they enjoy their dinner.
To book your Lookout Lodge stay, visit www.whipsnadezoo.org/plan-your-visit/zoo-experiences/lookout-lodge-zoo-sleepover.
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