The Potawatomi Zoo introduced its three youngest residents recently.

The endangered African painted dog pups were born at the zoo on September 28 and may be visible to the public soon.

The three unnamed pups were born to two of the three adult painted dogs at the zoo, and while the pups have had an unusual and challenging start to life, the zoo hopes they will have a bright and successful future.

Attempting to remain as hands-off as possible to ensure the painted dog pack could raise their litter of eight pups, staff found that the pups parents were not caring for their pups the way they should. So, they brought in a surrogate domestic dog to nurse the pups, and three of the pups remained strong enough to survive.

Once the pups are older, they may be integrated with the Potawatomi Zoo pack or moved to another AZA-accredited facility where they will hopefully raise families of their own. SOQ