Meerkat Pups Arrive
Posted at 11:50 am December 4, 2007 by Laura WeinerNgami and Ghanzi, our dominant female and male, have been very busy (see Laura’s previous blog, Meet the Meerkats). Just recently, they had their fifth litter. So you would think we would have more than just the four juveniles in the meerkat exhibit on Elephant Mesa. Unfortunately this group of meerkats seems to have some issues raising babies.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that Ngami was pregnant. It was pretty obvious because her belly gets so round, even more so than the rest of the well-fed mob. I weigh them all every month and that is also another indication. Since this group has had problems in the past raising pups, we are always wary of a new litter. On November 21, 2007, Ngami gave birth. In the beginning you never know how many pups were born because they are kept underground for the first two to three weeks. At least they are supposed to be kept underground! This mob has a habit of bringing the pups out when they are too young and putting them in harm’s way.
Although a pup was seen being moved from one den to another the first day, everything else seemed to be going well. There was an adult in the den with the pups at all times. This is always a good sign. For five days Seronga, one of the aunts, spent almost every minute in the den with the pups. She only came out when it was meatball or mealworm time. I was encouraged that five days had passed with no pups seen. In the past, this group has brought pups out at various times during that precious first few weeks, with a negative outcome.
Unfortunately, on November 26 Ngami brought one of the pups out and left it in the open. The others picked it up and took turns carrying it around. They also fought on top of it. Ngami would bring the pup back into the den but then bring it out again a minute later. The pup was getting cold and we made the decision to remove the pup and bring it to the Children’s Zoo Nursery. This is always a difficult decision, because the parents are usually the best equipped to care for the young and we encourage it. But this pup needed help. The nursery staff did such a wonderful job with Kala and Hari that we knew the new pup would be in good hands (see a previous blog, Meerkats Form New Family).
Later that day, the adult meerkats began the same process with a second pup: bringing it out, fighting over it, and moving it around too much. We pulled the second pup and brought it to be raised with its sibling. Being raised together will be great for these pups to grow up to be mischievous meerkats. They can be seen daily in the Children’s Zoo nursery and, according to a nursery keeper, are doing great so far!
Laura Weiner is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Scroll to the end to leave a comment. Pinging is not allowed.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Thanks for the update, Laura. Hopefully the parents stopped bringing the pups out too early and raises them safely inside. Any idea why they seem to want to bring them up so soon?
December 4th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Thanks for the update…I hope those two little pups grow up happy and healthy!
December 5th, 2007 at 5:47 pm
WOW!!! I have never heard of a meerkat mom bringing out her pups too early and then everybody in the mob fights over them! That is highly unusual meerkat behavior. When I was watching Meerkat Manor, there were a couple of occasions when Yousarian would start a den move with one week old pups, but was stopped in his tracks thanks to Flower and the rest of the family. Another unplanned den move resulted in the death of one of Mozart’s pups. Then, there was another den move when the pups were about 2 weeks old due to an emergency situation, and with Flower’s leadership, they all made it to their new burrow–pups and all! But, I have never seen the Whiskers group fight over their pups in any situation. So, your meerkats have presented some new research info about unusual meerkat behavior that has not been previously been seen or reported about in the Kalahari dessert in Africa when it comes to caring for and raising meerkat babies. Like you said, apparently these meerkats, especially the mother, has an issue on how to raise her babies. I am glad that the 2 babies that you all rescued from those unfortunate incidents are doing very well under your care. I’m hoping that those are the ONLY 2 meerkat babies that the mom had. I would hate to find out that there were one or two more pups that could be in trouble because of this mother and the mob. Unfortunately, there’s no way that you can teach a meerkat mom how to raise and care for her babies. The mom usually should have those instincts in her already. I’ve learned a lot about meerkats on Meerkat Manor, and I hope to learn alot more when Animal Planet brings back Meerkat Manor 4 in 2008. Have fun with the babies! They do grow up pretty quick!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
December 6th, 2007 at 9:54 am
Chari #3 – Thanks for letting me know that the Meerkat Manor will be back on again in 2008. I love learing about the meerkats but sometime I would turn the station, when one of the meerkats would die or be killed. I got very upset when they let Mozart die. I turned it off and wouldn’t watch again for a long time. I always feel that whoever was filming could have saved her.
Like you, after reading Laura’s story, I started to worry about any pups that may be left in the den.
Moderator, can you tell us if there are any more pups?
Moderator’s note: We’ll try to find out.
December 8th, 2007 at 5:43 pm
Thanks for the update, Laura. Let’s hope that the pups do alright. All the best! Happy holidays to everyone at the zoo, plus everyone who has contributed to the guestbook!
December 12th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Moderator, were you able to find out if there are anymore pups?
Moderator’s note: No other pups were found.
December 18th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
Moderator – this is off topic but is there any word about Gram and how he is doing at his new home?
Per the Tanganyika Wildlife Park staff: Gram is doing great! Everyone loves him, he’s like a big puppy. Staff is continuing his conditioning and we hope to get him painting again in the future. He will also be gaining some Indian rhino companionship in the spring when winter goes away.
December 18th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
So glad you were able to rescue the two pups. How are they doing? Will you reintroduce them to the group once they are stronger, bigger, and stable?
December 24th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
The pups are doing well in the nursery but they will not be introduced back into the group. Once they are taken out it is almost impossible and very dangerous to put them back. Once a meerkat is removed from a group it becomes an unknown and the group will attack and kill it.
On a side note I am so glad to hear Gram is doing well! I miss him so much as does every guest I come across near his old exhibit.
December 27th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Well how many pups was in the litter? just wondering.how many females and how many males? how old are they know? ive been watchiing merkat manner and know its intresting to learn more about them. i think they have every cute faces to:-)