Porcupines: Meet the super cute twin porcupettes born at London Zoo

Keepers at London Zoo have shared the first images of two adorable baby porcupines - known as a porcupettes.

The twins, a boy and a girl, were born last month and have spent their first few weeks snuggling up with their mum.

The new arrivals are Cape porcupines, which are native to central and southern Africa.

They are the largest of all the porcupine species and Africa's second largest rodent.

Baby porcupines are called porcupettes. They were born on 14 January and keepers discovered the newborns after monitoring the zoo's porcupine-cam.

The twin have been given the names Hector and Hinata and are the latest arrivals in a growing family of porcupines at the zoo - joining their older siblings five-month-old Henry and nine-month-old Hershey.

They have already had their first health check from the zoo's vet team and currently weigh a healthy 660g and 750g each.

Zookeeper Veronica Heldt said: "Our new arrivals are developing really well.

"Although they're only two weeks old, the nocturnal little ones are already confidently exploring their surroundings and bonding well with their new family."

Cape porcupines are considered 'ecosystem engineers' thanks to their expert foraging and digging skills, however they increasingly face threats such as habitat destruction and hunting.

Porcupines are social animals which live in small family groups.

They are nocturnal rodents, spending their day resting in hollow trees or undergrown burrows and only coming out at night to forage for food.

Porcupines are best known for their sharp quills that cover their bodies.

They also have spines on the tail, which they use to make a rattling sound to scare away any predators.