At the UK's Dudley Zoological Gardens, three tiny Meerkat pups have been spotted exploring their surroundings, after opening their eyes for the first time this week. The triplets were born in one of the underground burrows around three weeks ago and made their public debut yesterday to join DZG's eight-strong mob of adults. A child's pacifier was dropped into the Meerkat enclosure and quickly picked up by their mother and brought over to the young pups!

Photo credit: Dudley Zoological Gardens

Newborn Meerkats are unable to open their eyes for around two weeks and stay close to the burrows, usually with an adult meerkat who has been chosen as the group's babysitter. Keepers will have to wait until the babies are eight weeks old to discover their sex.