Three dwarf mongoose pups have been welcomed at Drusillas Zoo Park.

The adorable triplets join older sibling Maverick and darling duo Halo and Phoenix which were born in March this year. 

Going from one to six children in less than a year might sound challenging, but terrific twosome Goose, the mum, and Stasher, the dad, just keep going from strength to strength.

The happy couple only 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.

The Argus:

Needless to say, Goose and Stasher immediately fell head over heels and welcomed their first bundle of joy in August last year. Over the course of three litters, they have now added six dinky new arrivals to their brood to become a family of eight.

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!

“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 Argus:

"The zoo’s most experienced mama, meerkat Tamu, welcomed Reggie on May 24, 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 April 8 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 – so Goose and Stasher have been able to welcome quite a few of the teeniest, tiniest cutest babies in less than a year.

Drusillas Park now needs your help to decide the name of the three new pups. They haven’t confirmed the gender of the babies just yet.

"Gender-neutral names would be fantastic," a spokesperson for the zoo said.

"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.