As a child, I loved visiting the zoo near my town. While I am conflicted about housing animals far away from their natural habitat, I think it’s essential to make the population aware of the wonderful natural diversity present on this planet and its forest. Being an LA resident for the past 6-7 years, we often visit the fantastic San Diego Zoo, and one of the most heart-warming event during our visit is when we see animal listed as Least Concern on the conservation status bar.
This little fellow is a common dwarf mongoose who is native to Africa. The common dwarf mongoose is primarily found in dry grassland, open forests, and bush land, up to 2,000m in altitude. It is especially common in areas with many termite mounds, their favorite sleeping place. The species avoids dense forests and deserts. The common dwarf mongoose can also be found in the surroundings of settlements and can become quite tame.
While I was walking around the area, I noticed this mongoose trying to engage with the kids around and trying desperately to play with them. There was a bit of a light shaft that was landing on the enclosure, and I knew that it was just a matter of time before he will have a perfect pose for me. So I set my camera for the bright shaft of light and waited, it took a couple of tries but it worked, and I got this very cool pose.