CELEBRATIONS broke at Longleat this week after their Arabian rock hyrax unexpectedly gave birth to triplets.

Staff at the Wiltshire wildlife attraction were stunned at the news as they were unaware that the female was pregnant at all.

This is the first time the species, also called the stone badger or dassie and are found throughout Africa and in parts of Asia, has bred at Longleat.

"To be honest we were not anticipating them to give birth and so to come in last month and discover three tiny babies was fantastic," said keeper Rebecca Earner.

"The parents have been here for more than four years and this is the first time they have reproduced.

"Although we can’t tell what sex they are yet, all three babies are doing extremely well and becoming more active and independent with every passing day,” she added.

Despite their rodent-like appearance their nearest living relatives are actually elephants who they share a common ancestor with.