Three sand cat kittens born at North Carolina Zoo

June 5 (UPI) -- The North Carolina Zoo announced the birth of triplet sand cat kittens to a first-time mother.

The Asheboro zoo announced mother Sahara, 3, and father Cosmo, 9, welcomed the three kittens at the zoo May 11.

Sahara is a first-time mother, while Cosmo previously fathered a daughter, Layla, who now lives at the Greensboro Science Center.

The zoo said the sexes of the kittens are currently unknown and a poll will soon be held online to find names for the kittens.

Sand cats are nocturnal felines native to North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Asia. The animals are highly elusive, so researchers still do not know how long the felines live in the wild or the size of the wild population.

The triplets were born as part of the Sand Cat Species Survival Plan of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which aims "to maintain a healthy and genetically diverse population of sand cats to increase their numbers."