PHOTOS: Sussex Zoo Welcomes Three Mongoose Pups

Drusillas Zoo Park has announced the happy arrival of three dwarf mongoose pups - but one of them still needs a name...

The triplets join older sibling Maverick and duo Halo and Phoenix, who the mongoose Mum and Dad welcomed in March this year. 

A spokesperson for the park said the parents have now had five pups in less than a year, but mum (Goose) and dad (Stasher) 'just keep going from strength to strength'.

The two met last year when Goose came to Drusillas from Wild Discovery Zoo in Preston, as an exchange for Drusillas’ male dwarf mongoose, Houdini, in the hopes both zoos could have a successful breeding pair.

Goose and Stasher apparently 'immediately fell head over heels' and welcomed their first pup in August last year. Over the course of three litters, they have now 'added six dinky new arrivals to their brood to become a fabulous family of 8 - that’s some going!'

Zoo Business Manager Sue Woodgate commented:

“We recently refurbished the mongoose enclosure and it’s really wonderful to see it teeming with life and fun now. This mongoose family is always incredibly active and both the zookeepers and our visitors love watching them play and interact with one another. Now their family has grown, there’s sure to be even more high jinks and games!

Sue continued:

“It’s always very special welcoming new arrivals at the zoo and this year we’ve seen a real baby boom. Three tiny squirrel monkeys: Mateo, Lucia, and Rafael were born in June. The zoo’s most experienced mama, meerkat Tamu, welcomed Reggie on 24th May, and we’ve had some silvery marmosets too, who the public chose to name Luna and Alba on the Park’s social media. Visitors have probably also noticed baby colobus monkey Pedro (named after one of the zoo’s longstanding keepers), who was born on 8th April and likes to get up to all sorts of mischief!”

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. They have an incredibly short gestation period of just 54 days.

With this new arrival, Drusillas Park now has eight dwarf mongooses located at the beginning of the Zoo route, and they need your help to decide the name of the three new pups! They haven’t confirmed the gender of the babies just yet – so gender neutral names would be fantastic. 'And if you can make them ‘Top Gun’ themed, even better! Mum Goose and the older pups are all named after the dashing Top Gun pilots, and we don’t have an ‘Iceman’ yet – just saying….'

If you would like to help choose a name, head to Drusillas Park socials (@drusillaspark) to make a suggestion.

Located just off the A27 in Alfriston, Drusillas Park is open daily from 10am. For more information please telephone 01323 874100 or visit www.drusillas.co.uk