The Virginia Zoo announced this past week the birth of three Asian small-clawed otter pups to a fledgling family of the vulnerable species at the zoo’s facilities in Norfolk.

The trio of babies, which are all male, are the first pups to be born at the zoo. They were born on Aug. 25.

“Right now the babies are just at the wiggle stage,” zoo spokeswoman Emily Smicker said. “They’re not doing a whole lot except just for little snuggles with mom and dad.”

Smicker said the pups are being cared for and monitored around the clock by zookeepers and their parents. Their mother, Elbe, and their father, Jilin, joined the zoo with the blessing of an organization called the Asian Small-clawed Otter Species Survival Plan. Both of the parents were born under human care.

Asian small-footed otters are t

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