Scottish food and drink the name of the game for Edinburgh Zoo capybara triplets
The three ‘babybaras’ have been named after Scottish delicacies: Tattie, Tunnock and Toddy.
Edinburgh Zoo has given its newborn capybara triplets Scottish food and drink-themed names to pair with big brother Bru after a public vote.
After counting the votes cast by the public on social media, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) revealed on Monday that the three “babybaras” have been named after Scottish delicacies: Tattie, Tunnock and Toddy.
The two boys are to be called Tunnock and Toddy, and the girl is to be named Tattie.
The public was given the power to choose between five sets of names for the triplets.
Other options included 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).
Keepers spotted the three new “babybaras” on October 28 after they were born overnight to capybara parents Luna and Rodney.
Last week, the wildlife conservation charity’s vets weighed and microchipped the week-old pups and 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 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”.