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THE ZOO — When (and if) you think of a mongoose, you probably think of small-dog-sized creature that is famous for fighting and eating big, venomous snakes.
But maybe what you didn't know is that there are many kinds of mongooses, including the teeny tiny dwarf mongoose.
These sweet-faced mammals are only 7 to 10 inches long and typically weigh less than a pound. But that doesn't make them less fierce or less carnivorous than other mongooses.
This video highlights the tiny but mighty dwarf mongooses that live at the Oregon Zoo. In the wild, part of their natural diet is eggs, and they have a special technique to crack them open.
In the zoo, or at least in this video, the keepers don't give the mongooses animal eggs. Instead they put little treats in white, plastic Easter eggs. That's when the instincts kick in and the fun begins.
Taking the eggs in their front paws, the mongooses launch the eggs between their back legs toward rocks. Then the creatures hurriedly chase the eggs down to see if they are cracked enough to get to the tiny treat.
Incredibly, the eggs don't usually crack at the seam where they are meant to open. Instead the mongoose hurls the eggs over and over again until they actually crack holes in other parts of the shell.
It's a weirdly sweet and sinister combination of play and violence.
Also, as a fun thought exercise, if tiny animal football teams existed, dwarf mongoose would always be recruited as offensive centers. Hut, hut, hike!