Names needed for new litter of bat-eared fox cubs born at Exmoor Zoo

• See the bat-eared fox cubs with their mums

Four bat-eared fox cubs have been recently born at Exmoor Zoo and staff are now asking the public for help in naming them.

The litter was sealed off from the public for the past six weeks, allowing the three female cubs and one male cub to become more independent of their mum.

But now the cubs can be viewed by visitors - as well as their parents, who are one of only two breeding pairs of their species in the UK.

Bat-eared foxes are native to the grass savannahs of Africa and are specially adapted to hunt termites, with their large ears allowing them to be able to hear the creatures moving around.

Through evolution, the foxes have also developed the most acute hearing and the largest ears for their size of any wild dog. Their mouths are also different from any other foxes or dogs, as they many, extremely small teeth, which helps them crunch up the exoskeletons of termites.

Derek Gibson, the curator of the zoo, said: "We have been carefully nurturing the puppies with extra feed and lots of their parent’s favourite food (mincemeat) and they are only now beginning to let the puppies have a share as they are starting to be weaned."

The litter's father Vuko was born in Ogrod Zoo in Wroclaw, Poland, while their mother Opal is originally from Opel-Zoo in Frankfurt, Germany.

Staff at Exmoor Zoo say they hope the surprise cubs will all be able to remain at the site, but that as they grow, they may require a bigger home.

They are now encouraging members of the public to come up with names for the four new arrivals, with keepers said to be considering calling the male cub “Batty McBatface”.

Those hoping to see the bat-eared foxes are being urged to visit the site on a sunny day as Opal is still keeping her cubs inside when it rains.