Sussex zoo welcomes first ever baby mongoose
It follows a whirlwind romance at the site
For the first time ever, an East Sussex zoo is welcoming a dwarf mongoose pup - following a case of 'love at first sight'.
The youngster was discovered at Drusillas Park near Alfriston on October 15th, just weeks after her parents met for the first time.
The currently un-named female first came to the site in July from Preston in exchange from a male mongoose, in the hopes that both zoos could have a successful breeding pair.
Keepers had high hopes the newly welcomed female would result in a successful pairing with resident male, Stasher, but had no idea quite how quickly the two would accept each other and start a little family.
Zookeeper Freya Greyson said:
“It’s so exciting to finally have a dwarf mongoose pup at the zoo, but it happened so quickly we hadn’t even had a chance to give mum a name yet!
"She’s super gentle and sweet, and even though this is her first baby she’s clearly a natural and doing all the right things for her new pup.
"We usually ask the public to help us name our zoo-borns, but this time we need a name for mum as well.”
The dwarf mongoose is the smallest mongoose in the world, with adults measuring between 18-26 cm and even when fully grown only weighing between 200-300 grams.
Freya continued:
“This is possibly the cutest, and tiniest little family I’ve ever seen. The three of them are inseparable, constantly exploring, playing, and cuddling up together.
"Mama mongoose is being very attentive and caring, and dad Stasher is always close by. Stasher is a very cheeky character here at the zoo, and the new pup is already taking after him with a very confident and mischievous little personality beginning to show."
The zoo has now launched a competition to decide the name of both mother and baby - they're appealing for a gender-neutral name for the pup as their gender hasn't yet been confirmed.
You can make a suggestion via the Drusillas Park social media pages.