Naked mole rat queen emerges at last at the National Zoo

WASHINGTON - The National Zoo has announced a new naked mole rat queen after months of uncertainty.

Naked mole rat communities function as a colony - similar to bees or ants - and only the queen is allowed to give birth.

The colony arrived at the zoo this year, and hadn't yet selected a queen.

But zookeepers believed one female mole rat that was larger than the others had emerged as the front runner.

On Monday, she gave birth to three pups to confirm her prestigious role.

You can keep an eye on the naked mole rats through a live web camera the zoo installed in their enclosure.