Edinburgh
Zoo’s group of dwarf mongoose grew by three recently, when they welcomed a trio of new babies. Doting
dwarf mongoose mom and dad, Elvina and Elmo, are being kept busy with their
adventurous offspring. This is their first litter of kits since the pair
arrived at the Zoo in January. The newborns are keeping mum and dad
on their toes with their antics; the trio have quickly taken to
exploring the different tunnels around their enclosure.

These
playful and curious characters are incredibly social animals that can live in
groups of between two and 20. In the wild dwarf mongoose can be found
inhabiting the dry grassland and bush lands of Africa. Small by name and size, they are usually around seven to 11 inches (28 cm) in length
and are Africa’s smallest carnivore, as well as the smallest of the mongoose
species.

Sharon
Hatton, carnivore keeper at Edinburgh Zoo, said, “It’s
great news for us that Elvina and Elmo have successfully bred already, after
only arriving at the beginning
of the year. We
were hopeful that they would produce a litter this year, however realistically we
thought it would take them a little longer to settle in. It was a bit of a
surprise…but a good surprise." 

Photo Credit: Katie Paton