Hilvarenbeek, June 2, 2022 - Two meerkats were born at Safaripark Beekse Bergen. Unfortunately, one of these young meerkats passed away today. In total, there are now ten adult meerkats and one young in the park. These small predators live in the wild in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Zookeeper Christian Meurrens explains: "Births are always exciting. In the first weeks, a lot can still go wrong. With this duo it looked good, but unfortunately one of the meerkats did not make it. Fortunately, the other youngster is doing well."

Meerkats are born blind and then stay in the burrow for another two weeks. Around the third week they crawl out of their burrow. The mother and other meerkats keep a close eye on the young. After about six weeks, the small predators eat solid food, and they are independent when they are sixteen weeks old. The animals are usually between ten and fifteen years old.