EXMOOR Zoo has welcomed a baby honey badger to become one of only two mother and baby pairs in the UK.

As a species, the honey badger has only been bred once before at Howletts Wildlife Park, Canterbury, over 20 years ago.

Mrs Stoffel, the new badger mother, gave birth on January 16, and zoo keepers have until now had minimal contact with the mum and daughter. A single youngster is looked after by just its mother for sometimes over 15 months.

The zoo director said: “We’ve kept her birth secret because often parents if they feel pressured by potential threats may kill their offspring.

“So, we’ve very much taken a back seat and minimised our keeper interactions with mum in their enclosure. We wanted them to feel safe and protected.

“Now we are confident enough to tell everyone about our precious baby honey badger.”

The recent relocation of the male out of the exhibit – honey badger fathers don’t get on with their babies - meant that Mrs Stoffel has become more open to taking her baby out and about in their outside enclosure.

According to Exmoor Zoo, the mother is encouraging her daughter to investigate and not stay in the “sett”, which is the perfect opportunity for visitors to sight the baby badger, best spotted at around 10am and after 3pm.

Senior carnivore keeper Tina Rowtcliff said: “We’d really love to give her a name, but we think letting the public come up with a name would be amazing.

“I suggested ‘Zuma’, as the Disney’s lion guard had its own honey badger.”

The zoo will run a competition on their social media platforms to find a name for the baby badger, and members of the public are asked to send in their suggestions.