Walking around Hunter Valley Zoo, it is clear to see maternal instinct in action.

Between the meerkats, capybaras and ring-tail lemurs, you don’t need to look far to see sweet family moments.

Primate keeper Daisy Murphy said there were at least 10 new species of animals with new babies at the zoo.

Where possible, they try to keep them with their mothers as much as possible.

“We only intervene if it’s absolutely necessary,” she said.

“We have a baby wombat at the moment who is being hand-raised, unfortunately his mum got hit by a car.

“But, apart from that, we just let them do what they want to do.”

Fancy taking your own mum out to the zoo for her special day?

Hunter Valley Zoo will be open from 9am to 4pm, and mothers will receive a raffle ticket. For more information, visit www.huntervalleyzoo.com.au