Crowd-pleasing Meerkat Pups
Posted at 4:05 pm March 27, 2008 by Laura WeinerThe meerkat exhibit on Elephant Mesa at the San Diego Zoo has been very popular as of late. No doubt mostly because of the four meerkats pups that have been drawing crowds. The pups, born on February 21, 2008, just reached five weeks old and are doing great.
It was definitely touch-and-go there for a while, (see Laura’s blog, Keeping Meerkat Pups in the Den), but the pups are proving to be healthy and happy. One of our little ones has a left front paw deformity. We are not sure what the problem is, but this little one is getting around just fine.
Once the sun rises in the morning, all 12 of the group are out sunning their bellies. The adults are standing up on their tippy toes and the pups are sitting with legs tucked under, staying warm. As the day progresses the play begins. The pups all can run now, which is quite funny! Whenever I enter the exhibit, everyone comes running with the hope of a bag of mealworms or a box of crickets. About 10 seconds after the adults are circling my feet, the pups come charging across the exhibit. Actually, is it more like running/tripping. They run with their tails straight up just like the adults. Their vocalizations are also quite loud: constant barking that gets louder when they are with the adults.
They love to rest in the sun and snuggle with their babysitters. The young females from the last litter spend a lot of time with the pups. They seem to have so much energy, and then they will just stop and pass out in the dirt: too tired to run around anymore. I have been trying to acclimate them to me and my presence in the exhibit. The adult meerkats sit on my knees, dig on my shoes, and fall asleep in my lap sometimes when it is cold. The pups have been investigating my shoes and pants; it is a good start.
If you have been by the exhibit, you may have noticed some hair missing from the pups. I have a small hair trimmer that I use to shave certain spots so we can tell them apart. The pups are not happy when I shave them and Ngami, their mother, is always concerned. But they are returned to the group with no harm done, just a few shorter hairs.
The group is getting along quite well, which is nice to see. Ngami and Kasane still have their small fights, but everyone is taking turns with the pups and sharing. Stop by Elephant Mesa any time the sun is out to get a glimpse of these cuties. Soon they’ll be as big as their older brothers and sisters!
Laura Weiner is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
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March 27th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
I’m so glad to hear that these four cuties turned out fine!
I’ve been reading your meerkat updates and know how challenging it’s been for you to keep the litters healthy and strong. Good job! Sounds like so much fun working with these bundles of energy!
March 27th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
I have read about another pup with a deformed leg who also lived in a zoo. They acutally splinted its leg and it healed perfectly. I don’t remember which zoo, though, but with all that care you provide it will thrive just fine.
March 27th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Thank you so much for the update. So happy to hear they are doing so well. I plan to stop by tomorrow to view first hand their play.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Laura, how wonderful to see that the pups are fine,even the one with the deformed leg is getting around well, this is a testament to the fine care that you provide to your little charges. They trust you and I believe they hold you in high regard, sort of leader of the pack. You have earned their trust and this will make it easier to take care of them. Thanks to all the keepers who take such wonderful care of the little meerkats. Have you named them yet
March 28th, 2008 at 7:58 am
I caught two of the pups during my last visit. They were super cute! There are two more? I guess I’ll need to return to meet all four before they get too big.
March 28th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Laura, thanks for the very entertaining update. It must be great fun. Meerkats are my sister’s favorite zoo animals. She may be jealous when she hears you walk in the exhibit and are swarmed by them, even sitting in your lap!
Glad to hear that all 4 youngsters are thriving. The little one with the deformed foot will get the attention it needs from you and the family. Obviously it is not serious enough for them to have abandoned it. Ngami seems to finally be getting the hang of motherhood and the fact that four pups survived is fabulous news to all of us.
March 28th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Thank you very much for the latest update on one of my favourite animals. I’m so pleased that they seem to have settled in as a family. Please, please are there any pictures of the babies? Would love to see them.
March 28th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Congratulations! They look so cute. I can’t wait to visit and see them.
Bye,
Jamie
March 28th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Thanks for the update. Ever since Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet I’ve gotten interested in Meerkats. I enjoyed sitting and watching them when I was at the SDZ last year and had a greater understanding of their behaviors since watching the show. I’m so thrilled to hear the little ones are having fun and playing… what a great thing to be able to watch. I hope they continue to thrive.
(a panda-holic)
Love, Joy
March 29th, 2008 at 1:22 am
Thank you moderator, for your note on the Su Lin post, about Meerkat pictures. I shall look forward to them.
The latest Meerkat info is very interesting and at least there was a photo of some little ones. So cute and adorable. At one of the wildlife parks I visit you can pre-book a feeding session with the Meerkats and on one occasion the man who was feeding them had them running up the inside of his trouser legs and down the inside of his jumper!
March 29th, 2008 at 6:29 am
The Meerkats are my favorite zoo animals. I visited our local zoo a few weeks ago. The family of the cuties were out in full force. Keep up the good work.
March 29th, 2008 at 8:00 am
Photo in the weekly newsletter is super cute! Is it possible to add that to this blog entry?
March 29th, 2008 at 11:15 am
It would be great if you turned the t.v. cam on the family. I am disabled amd spend hours each day watching the pandas.
Michelle Matarrese
March 29th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Hi, you all! Glad to read about the meerkat pups and how well they are doing. So there are 4 pups?? OK; still a good number for Ngami to take care of. I’m also glad that those lessons that you taught Ngami when the pups were born have taken hold so well. Hopefully, she’ll remember everything when she has another litter of pups later on. The pup with the deformed leg sounds like he’s doing very well and has adjusted to his disability. He’s a very lucky pup to be at SDZ, tho. Usually, meerkat pups with deformities do not live very long in the wild, which was described on Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet a few months ago. That was the episode about one of Flower’s pups that had a front leg deformity, and he had a hard time keeping up with the family when they went out foraging. Unfortunately, that pup only lived about a month. But this little guy at SDZ will have a great life with his meerkat family and you all taking good care of all of them.
I’m also looking for some pics of these meerkat pups, too! Hope you all can get some pics online ASAP, like real quick! I’ve seen pics of them on the NZ website and on TV, and they are fun to watch and cute to look at.
I’m waiting for NZ to get a meerkat cam up online so that I can watch them on that website. Wouldn’t that be fun? Oh well……! Maybe SDZ can get a cam up in the meerkat exhibit!
Gonna go for now. Take care of this cute meerkat family, and let us know of any news about them and any new babies.
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
March 29th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Hi,
We were at the SDZoo on March 21st and discovered the meerkats there. We won’t soon forget what we saw. At first the meerkats seemed to be relaxed and behaving peacefully. Then, several rushed to one side of their enclosure. Then, they rushed to the other side and a commotion ensued. We walked over to see more closely and one meerkat was lying on its back, while several others attacked it! There were so many of them, biting and making noises and really attacking this one animal. Not just one on one fight, but like the whole group against that one! It looked like a full grown meerkat. We tried to make some noise, clapping hands and telling them to ” play nice,” all to no avail, until a zoo employee came by and shook a very large key ring at them. They scattered and the one on its back ran off far away from the others.
What was the behavior we saw? We are very curious! We also hope that one meerkat will be okay!
Thanks!
March 30th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Hi! Forgot to let all of you meerkat fans know about a movie coming out this year. It’s called ” Queen of the Kalahari” , and it’s about Flower, the dominant female meerkat of the Whiskers meerkat mob that has been a part of the ” Meerkat Manor” series on Animal Planet. I think this will be a great little movie because it follows Flower and her dominant male partner in their daily lives and building one of the largest meerkat mob families in the Kalahari region. This group has been researched and studied for 10 years or more by the Cambridge University researchers and other research groups, and they have detailed records of this entire family, including the meerkats that were lost due to predators, starvation, and other reasons. I also think that this movie is a tribute to Flower’s tenacity, power, ruthlessness, fighting spirit when confronted with danger and mob wars, and the love that she had towards her family even tho she had to evict at least 3 of her daughters from the mob due to ” family infractions” , namely getting pregnant. By the end of Meerkat Manor’s 3rd season last year, this mob numbered over 50 meerkats before Flower was killed by a poisonous snake trying to protect her newest litter of pups. So, this is a tribute to one of the best loved and greatest meerkat mob leaders that these researchers have seen in years, and I can’t wait for Animal Planet to get ” Meerkat Manor 4″ back on so that I can find out how the Whiskers are doing after Rocket Dog took over and the mob has been split up. Gonna be interesting to say the least!
Well, I hope that your own meerkat family is doing well, especially the 4 new babies. Have the other babies from the other 2 litters been back with this family? Hope so!
When I find out when this movie is due to come out, I’ll let you all know!
BYE!!!!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
March 31st, 2008 at 6:45 am
Check out the pups picture on the current news letter, they are just to cute
March 31st, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Barbara (#17), what newsletter are you talking about? Is this newsletter on a website that you know about, or a newsletter that you have to pick up somewhere? I would love to see the pics of these cute little meerkat pups! Let us know about this, ok? Write back!
Thanks,
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
Moderator’s note: Our readers are referring to the San Diego Zoo’s free weekly e-newsletter, which has a photo of an adult meerkat and 4 pups. The photo is actually a file photo taken a few years ago. But our Zoo photographer just took some new photos of the current meerkat pups and as soon as those become available, we will post them with Laura’s blog. Here’s a link to the e-letter: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/newsletter/newsletter.html
You can sign up to receive the e-letters here: http://www.sandiegozoo.org/newsletter/index.html
April 25th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Hi, Meerkat Fans!! Writing back to let you all know that Meerkat Manor will be back on Animal Planet in late May and early June. Here are the programs that they have ready for us to watch: ” Meerkat Manor, Next Generation” , June 6; ” Meerkat Manor, The Story Begins” , May 25 and30: ” Making of Meerkat Manor” , May 25; ” Science of Meerkat Manor” , May 30. ” Meerkat Manor, Next Generation” is the continuation of Rocket Dog’s role as dominant female of the Whiskers clan after the death of Flower, and the Whiskers being split up into two groups. This will be very interesting watching! Been wondering about Japhod, Yousarian, and some of the other meerkats in that group.
How are the 4 newest pups and the meerkat mob doing at SDZ lately? Haven’t heard too much about them in a little over a month now. Hope everything is still going good there! Has Ngami gotten pregnant again? Hope not; she needs to wait a little while so that she can be a real mom to her 4 babies that she has now. Then, when she does have her next litter of pups, she will definitely have the skills necessary to be the momma meerkat that she can really be and take good care of her pups.
Please write another update about the meerkats, ok? Looking forward to seeing that soon!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
Moderator’s note: We’ll see if Laura can provide an update on Ngami and her pups.