Two otter babies look set to conquer visitors hearts

Two Asian small-clawed otter pups have been born at Banham Zoo.

Born on July 19, the two brothers took until now to poke their heads out of their nest.

A spokeswoman for the zoo said: "Otter parents prefer to keep their pups safely tucked away from prying eyes for the first eight to ten weeks.

"Keepers were only able to confirm the birth when the parents did not come out for food and they started to hear the pups calling from inside the box."

Over the next couple of weeks, parents Tilly and Sam will teach their young how to swim and other necessary skills to survive.

There are 13 different otter species worldwide and the Asian small-clawed otter is the smallest of them all.

Like many others, the species is classed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which estimates that their global population has gone down by 30% over the last 30 years.

The rapid decline in numbers is due to habitat destruction from palm oil farming, water pollution, hunting and over-fishing.