One, Two, Three, Four! Four Little Meerkat Pups for Twycross Zoo
June 21, 2013
Four Meerkat pups have been born at Twycross Zoo in England, and the tiny new arrivals have already proved a huge hit with visitors! The pups were born on May 11 to mum Tallulah after an 11-week gestation period. While staff were keeping an eye out for pups after spotting a heavily pregnant Tallulah, quadruplets came as a welcome surprise to everyone.
Julian Chapman, Team Leader of Large Mammals, commented, “This is the largest litter of pups we’ve had in a few years. They are all doing very well and mum is doing a great job caring for them, despite probably having her hands full! At four weeks old, the pups are still feeding from mum and will become fully weaned and eating solids at around 60 days old.”
Meerkats are part of the mongoose family and live in large families in burrows in the desert. They are highly social animals and live groups called mobs -- and family members are very much involved in raising pups. Julian added: “Aunties and older sisters will help mum out with babysitting whilst she goes off to feed, and other members of the family will stand on their hind legs keeping a look out for predators. The pups spent the first few weeks in their underground burrows and have just started venturing out."
The pups have been a huge hit with visitors and are on view now, but you can see them right now by clicking on the video below!
See more pictures after the jump: