Unlike humans, a lot of animals’ reproductive patterns follow the annual seasonal cycle: giving birth when the weather is kind and the food is plentiful, It all makes perfect sense.

Spring hedgerows burst with courting birdsong, then fledglings; and salmon and whales undertake arduous annual journeys to return to generations-old breeding grounds.

Other species breed any time of year, so at the zoo, we’re always on the alert for signs that mean we have to give animals privacy or special nesting materials, extra monitoring or dietary supplements.

This makes it all the more exciting to give autumn zoo visitors their first glimpse of not one but two brand-new hairy armadillo pups.

People may well remember the ‘lonely hearts’ saga of Tank, the original hopeful bachelor, who captured hearts far and wide when he arrived in 2019.

Talking of matter of the hearts things didn’t quite go to plan.

When prospective new (and younger!) girlfriend Nessa joined Tank in 2020, the two soon buddied up- but in a strictly platonic sense.

Even though I wasn’t yet at the zoo, I too was tuned into the pair’s lockdown antics, scuttling around their bespoke assault course.

However, that wasn’t going to give Cumbria its first home-bred armadillo family that everyone was rooting for, so enter Dozer, (born in Frankfurt, Germany), earlier this year: half Tank’s size, but, as it turned out, the perfect match for Nessa.

About six weeks ago keepers recognised the signs that Nessa was preparing to give birth.

Armadillo or human, first-time parenthood can be tricky, so while providing everything she needed, we had to make important regular checks as non-intrusive as possible.

This is why it’s hard to know the exact day our boys were born, and also why we’re only just introducing them to the public.

Needing to quadruple their weight over their first month, when we saw their eyes open, we knew they were over the riskiest stage.

Named Digger and Dumper, they’re now strong (and inquisitive) enough to make their first forays in public, and it’s going to be great tracking their journey to adulthood over the next eight months or so.