Mini Meerkats Emerge at the Reid Park Zoo

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: April 9, 2022 12:36 pm

The meerkat pups at Reid Park Zoo nurse from their mother

Photo Credit: Reid Park Zoo

The meerkat mob at Reid Park Zoo has two more members with twins born recently. Their first few weeks of life have been spent in a den with mom but recently they took their first steps in to the big, wide world.

"The most exciting thing to watch is the meerkat pups begin to practice the skills of all adult meerkats, like digging. The little pups have to balance while moving their front legs to dig and often the early attempts are less than perfect, resulting in toppling over. With time they get stronger and more coordinated" said Sue Tygielski, PhD, Director of Zoo Operations.

At birth the pups had little fur and closed eyes. Now that they have grown they are able to explore the wider world.

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"The new parents and the pups are spending some of their time in the behind-the-scenes portion of their habitat while the pups are still in the earlier stages of their development. The family is visible to guests periodically when the pups are exploring but often prefer to sleep behind the scenes still."

This week the pups were able to step in to their outside enclosure. Keepers described them as cautious having spent much of their time in the doorway to the habitat looking in to the outside world.

Wild meerkat populations are considered stable but climate change has begun to impact their population through changing natural cycles in their habitat.

Learn more about Meerkats here - Meerkat Fact File | The Animal Facts

Learn more about the Reid Park Zoo on their website – Reid Park Zoo

The meerkat pups emerge from their den at the Reid Park Zoo

Photo Credit: Reid Park Zoo