Rare bear cubs take first 'exciting' steps outside at Somerset zoo

The cubs were born on 11 January but have only just ventured outside

Two four-month-old Andean bear cub twins have "excited" keepers by taking their first steps outside.

Staff at Noah's Ark Zoo Farm, in Wraxall, North Somerset, extended the nursery area for the cubs, draining the pond and laying woodchip mulch to make it safer for the rare cubs.

Keeper Chris Wilkinson said: "It's exciting to see them out and to be at a point where the public can finally see them."

The cubs were born on 11 January.

Andean bears naturally live a solitary lifestyle so the cubs will be separated from their father, Rasu, but will stay with their mother, Madidi.

The bears have non-retractable claws which help them climb trees for food in their natural habitat in South America

Their enclosure has been divided to allow them access to the main area while separating them from the stream and the main pool.

The birth of the cubs was described as a "significant achievement" as the species is vulnerable to extinction in the wild, with fewer than 10,000 of the bears thought to be left.

Mr Wilkinson said keepers were "very happy" with the cubs' growth and development, adding that they were "important additions to help preserve the species".

Andean bears, also known as spectacled bears, are the last living species of the short-faced bear (tremarctinae).