THEY are cute, fluffy, plump and their big eyes draw you in.

Ten-week old Kari and Ash are the newest Lesser Sooty owls chicks at the Cairns Tropical Zoo.

The two hatched about five days apart and will join the public display in the Birds of Prey aviary in the next two weeks.

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The zoo’s senior bird supervisor, James Biggs, said the main population of the owls was on the Tableland with smaller populations extending north to Cooktown.

"As soon as they are fully fleged and out of the hollow they’ll be on show," he said.

"They do have their own personalities just like any bird and Kari is a bit more dominant, but that’s probably because she’s a couple of days older."

The birds’ names were chosen from a hat out from names entered by wildlife keepers.

Mr Biggs said the chicks’ mother had kept her babies a well-hidden secret.

"The birth of these two birds came as a surprise to all of the birdkeepers because we thought the mother had broken her eggs as she had done on numerous occasions in the past," he said.

"She had apparently been hiding two very plump, fluffy grey chicks under her tail for an estimated three weeks."

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