Hello world! Baby meerkats greet the public for the first time

While the world waited for the first glimpse of a certain royal baby, these adorable baby meerkats stole the prince's thunder when they ventured outdoors for the first time this week.

The tiny triplets kept close to each other and to mother Babushka, who gave birth on June 21 at Bristol Zoo Gardens.

Babushka has plenty of experience to manage the brood as they are her 11th litter.

The triplets are currently too young to be sexed so have not yet been named.

Lynsey Bugg, assistant curator of mammals at Bristol Zoo, said: "The triplets have spent their first few weeks safely snuggled up with mum or another designated 'babysitter', most often somewhere quiet like a nest box or in the tunnel system of their enclosure.

"In the wild pups would not emerge from a burrow until they were two to three weeks old.

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"Mum will feed them frequently but the whole group should help to keep them safe and warm and they are commonly found at the bottom of a huddle."

Meerkats usually have between one and five pups per litter but three or four is average.

The new arrivals bring the number of meerkats at the zoo to 18.

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