Congratulations are in order for a pair of bat-eared foxes who recently welcomed two babies at the Memphis Zoo in Tennessee. The zoo announced the happy news in a statement on Thursday, writing on its official website: "Raj and Helen our bat-eared foxes are now parents. Helen gave birth on May 25th." "Raj and Helen are both first-time parents. These two were first introduced to the public back in February and have been a perfect pair," the post read. "The new family is still spending a lot of time in their den, but the kits may be spotted on exhibit exploring their new surroundings or nursing."

According to the zoo, their births are a part of the institution's new Species Survival Plan. "We're proud to announce the birth of 2, yes 2, bat-eared fox kits," Memphis Zoo shared on its social media accounts, alongside a video of the kits. "They can be seen on exhibit inside Cat Country. We recommend being very quiet if you want to see them." With the new addition, the zoo now has four bat-eared foxes in its exhibit. Helen came from Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, while Raj was originally from the Oklahoma City Zoo, according to the Memphis Zoo website.

The baby foxes arrived just a month after the Memphis Zoo welcomed a Pere David's deer fawn named April. In a blog post, the zoo said the birth was "extremely significant because this species is extinct in the wild." Though bat-eared foxes are not considered endangered, they are often hunted for their pelts and the species is losing its living space to humans, according to the African Wildlife Foundation. The foundation reports that there are currently two distinct populations native to more than 10 African countries.

Two populations are known, one from Ethiopia and southern Sudan to Tanzania; the other from southern Angola and Rhodesia to South Africa. Bat-eared foxes are found in arid grasslands and savannas, preferring areas where the grass is short. They are capable diggers and live in dens that are dug by the foxes themselves or those left by other animals such as aardvarks. Dens have multiple entrances and chambers and several meters of tunnels. A family may have several dens in its home range.

The bat-eared fox's name comes from its enormous ears, which are 114 to 135 mm long. The body is generally yellow-brown; the throat and underparts are pale; the outsides of the ears, raccoon-like "face-mask," lower legs, feet, and tail tip are black. Besides the large ears, the bat-eared fox is set apart from other foxes by its unique dentition. It has more teeth than any other heterodont placental mammal with a total between 46 and 50 (Nowak, 1983). Whereas in all other canids there are no more than two upper and three lower molars, the bat-eared fox has at least three upper and four lower molars. On the lower jaw, a large step-like protrusion anchors the large digastric muscle that is used for rapid chewing of insects. The legs are relatively short.