Two ‘porcupettes’ have been welcomed by keepers at London Zoo
(Picture: ZSL London Zoo)Keepers at London Zoo have welcomed two new spiky bundles of joy in the form of newborn porcupines.
The tiny Cape porcupines - known as porcupettes - were born to parents Hettie and Henning on January 14 and are “developing really well”.
Zookeeper Veronica Heldt discovered the newborns, now named Hector and Hinata, after monitoring the zoo’s porcupine-cam.
“Our new arrivals are developing really well,” she said. “Although they’re only two weeks old, the nocturnal little ones are already confidently exploring their surroundings and bonding well with their new family.
“We’ve named the precious pair Hector and Hinata. All the porcupines in the family have names starting with the letter ‘H’ so Hector and Hinata join parents Hettie and Henning, nine-month-old Hershey and five-month-old Henry.”
The porcupettes have already had their first health check from the zoo’s vet team and currently weigh a healthy 660g and 750g each.
Adult Cape porcupines can reach 15kg, with quills measuring up to 45cm – the same length as a rounders bat.
Veronica added: “Thankfully for mum Hettie, baby porcupines are born with short, soft quills that harden at about one week of age, so labour wasn’t as painful as people might imagine!”
Cape porcupines are nocturnal rodents, native to central and southern Africa.
They are the largest of all the porcupine species and Africa’s second-largest rodent.
As expert foragers and diggers, Cape porcupines are considered ‘ecosystem engineers’, but increasingly they face threats of habitat destruction and hunting.
ZSL, the conservation charity behind London Zoo, works to protect threatened species around the world and to help protect and preserve healthy ecosystems.
