90th Birthday: Mother Meerkat
Posted at 7:42 am September 18, 2006 by Dennis Corbran
Windows Media version | Quicktime version
Mother Meerkat, also known as Vik Cowan, San Diego Zoo educator, shows us her favorite Zoo ambassador, Bahati.
“Mother Meerkat” is the sixth selection of our 90th Birthday Podcasts series. Download all the 90th Birthday videos here.
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February 12th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Why do meerkats have a dominant alpha male and a dominant alpha female?
Vik replies: The alpha male and alpha female are the animals in the group who breed. Since meerkats are social animals, this makes sense genetically, because it avoids inbreeding. The keepers tell me that the boss female in each group is the boss of everybody!
January 3rd, 2009 at 7:38 am
Dear Mother Meerkat,
I was wondering how many Meerkats you have at the San Diego zoo?
from Gabe.
Moderator’s note: As of January 8, 2009, there are 27 meerkats at the Zoo.
February 21st, 2009 at 8:50 am
if you go to a school, do you bring Bahati with you sometimes
Moderator’s note: We often bring a meerkat ambassador to schools for special programs.