They also have this exact setup at the Houston zoo. I always wondered what the poor prairie dogs thought of the human bowls sticking up out of the ground.
They are called dassies/rock hyrax, and are related to elephants. We have a shit ton of them everywhere in rock slits, caves, koppies (small hills), you mention it, they are there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_hyrax
Edit: It seems that I'm wrong about them being dassies, sorry.
"The closest living relatives to hyraxes are the modern-day elephants and sirenians."
You're telling me these things are more closely related to a freaking sea cow than a gopher? Wtf you doing there, nature?
Also, there's a myth used to trick gullible people: "did you know, if you pick up a dassie by its tail, their eyes fall out?", as most people don't get into such close contact to test it, or to know they lack tails.
The two closest to the girl's face appear to have tails, though. Unless I'm mistaken, the one right by her has a little black-tipped fluff, and the other has one similar to the colors of their bodies.
Interesting info either way, though
Edit: It seems that I'm wrong about them being dassies, sorry.
You're telling me these things are more closely related to a freaking sea cow than a gopher? Wtf you doing there, nature?
Interesting info either way, though