By TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
July 8, 2016 at 08:00 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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ICHIHARA, Chiba Prefecture--The current main attraction at the Ichihara Elephant Kingdom zoo is not the resident tusky pachyderms.
The big draw these days are the cute little juvenile black-tailed prairie dogs.
The babies started popping up in early May 2015, and 21 young ones were confirmed about a month later.
A video camera was planted in the soil inside their shelter with the help of a zookeeper, and animal feed was placed around it.
The little rodents didn’t dare to come out at first, probably because they were cautious about the unusual placement of the food.
After a 30-minute wait, their parents came out of the burrow to stand up and look around. As the parents approached the feeding spot and started eating, the babies followed.
Holding round slices of carrots, sweet potatoes and other snacks with their dexterous forefeet, the young prairie dogs munched on the feast. It was adorable to see the babies stuffing their little cheeks.
Their cute squeaky calls were also wonderful.
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