Edinburgh Zoo calls on public to name newborn capybara triplets

Edinburgh Zoo has launched a social media vote to pick names for a trio of newborn capybara pups.

The proposed options incorporate Scottish island and landscape themes, alongside nods to Still Game and Tunnock's.

Following an initial check-up by the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s (RZSS) veterinary team, staff confirmed the sex of the young animals.

Keepers first discovered the "babybaras" last Wednesday, after they were born overnight to parents Luna and Rodney.

This week, the wildlife conservation charity’s vets weighed and microchipped the week-old pups and have confirmed they are two boys and a girl.

The new litter of capybara pups comes just months after baby capybara Bru, who was born in May, catapulted to viral fame.

He was the first capybara to be born in Scotland in 18 years.

Darren McGarry, head of animal care at Edinburgh Zoo, previously said Bru was “adjusting to no longer being the centre of attention”.

“He is a little grumpy for now but we are sure he will be best buds with his siblings once he settles,” Mr McGarry said last week.

The public has been given the power to choose between five sets of names for the triplets.

Options include names linked to Scottish food and drink to pair with Bru (Tattie, Tunnock, and Toddy); three of Scotland’s islands (Harris, Skye, and Barra); Scottish geography terms (Ben, Cairn, and Brae); characters from the Scottish sitcom, Still Game (Jack, Victor, and Isa); and space themed names after mum, Luna, and the zoo’s Giant Lanterns cosmic safari (Nova, Laika, and Apollo).

The RZSS previously said the pups were doing well and sticking close to their mother.

Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents and can breed several times a year.

The birth of the triplets also comes after a photograph of two capybaras in the pool went viral on social media, with the zoo only recently revealing that this intimate scene was shared between Rodney and Cali, Luna’s sister.

Mr McGarry said previously that the capybaras’ lives “are like something from a soap opera”.

The competition to decide the names of the new arrivals is currently live on Edinburgh Zoo’s social media channels. Voting ends on Monday, November 9.