Comments on: Meerkats: Never a Dull Moment

By: William Sharp

William Sharp — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:48:23 +0000

How many meerkats does the san diego zoo have how many males & females & their names and will san diego zoo have a meerkat cam

Moderator’s note: The San Diego Zoo has 27 meerkats in 3 different locations at this time: Elephant Mesa, Kopje, and Children’s Zoo. There are no plans at this time to offer a meerkat cam.

By: Janelle

Janelle — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:38:43 +0000

Happy New Year to all the Meerkats, Meerkat Zookeepers and especially Laura. You are doing such a wonderful job with all of these cuties. I have one question. Laura, when I came in August 2008 there were 14 Meerkats in the exhibit where you were feeding them. Now there are 13, per you last response. Did one meerkat get placed in another Meerkat exhibit at S.D. Zoo? Hope to visit them soon. Take care and stay well Meerkats....we love you! Moderator's note: Yes, there have been some changes. Check out Laura's blog, Meerkats: Heat Seekers for some answers.

By: Janelle

Janelle — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:27:40 +0000

The last time I visited the S.D. Zoo, in August, there were several new pups that emerged. They are the cutest. I want to come back and visit soon and wanted to check to see what is new in the meerkats enclosures. Any chance that there are more pups?

Laura responds: The pups are doing well and just had their final vaccinations. I just weighed Ngami and she is staying at 1.30 kilograms for the time being. Hopefully that means she is not pregnant. 13 meerkats are quite a handful to deal with right now!

By: Susan Harrison, Santa Clara, CA

Susan Harrison, Santa Clara, CA — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:29:49 +0000

Sure sounds like SDZ’s got a Meerkat Manor of their own, including the drama! Hope all goes well with Kasane and her pups. I did get some good pictures of the meerkats when I was there in April this year.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:39:34 +0000

Hi Laura,

I was wondering if, and when, Ngami and Kasane have given birth to their pups yet? Any details?

Thanks and thanks for taking such good care of these delightful creatures, albeit a handful at times. LOL

Moderator’s note: Laura just sent us an updated blog and we’ll post it Tuesday morning.

By: Chari Mercier

Chari Mercier — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:42:27 +0000

Hi, you all! WOW!!! I must have missed this blog! Sounds like Animal Planet’s ” Meerkat Manor” over there!! Ngami fighting with Kasane and Seronga, then who knows which other meerkat got her hip slams! Ngami is reminding me of Nikita of the Commandos on Meerkat Manor. She’s just as mean towards her group, and on the episode that I saw tonite, she was even more brutal by evicting 8 sisters and daughters out of her group basically because she was pregnant herself! She didn’t want any female meerkat, even family related, to overshadow her at all! Back to the SDZ Meerkat Manor, Ngami sounds like she’s got some of Nikita’s behaviors and attitudes! The only thing that I am hoping for is that Ngami remembers how to care for and raise her pups after they are born. You all are going to have to really watch her very closely again to make sure that she is able to do it the correct way. You were able to do it with the last litter of pups, so good luck with this new litter coming up. I think that getting Kasane out of the group now will be a big help for her. She needs to be stress free when she is ready to have her pups, and then starting a new group for her will be nice. At least you all won’t allow any fighting between groups! You’re doing a great job with this wild bunch of meerkats, and like you said, it’s never boring inside the SDZ Meerkat Manor!
Have fun!!
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL

By: Kecia

Kecia — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:58:01 +0000

They’re lucky to have such a good keeper looking after them! Keep up the good work, Laura!

By: Susan (UK)

Susan (UK) — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 17:08:44 +0000

I do hope Seronga is recovering from her ordeal. What a bunch of squabblers they are! They look so sweet and innocent, don’t they. Still love them though.

By: Laurie

Laurie — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:50:29 +0000

Hi Laura, I was at the Zoo this past weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I drove over from Arizona to spend 3 days with your wonderful meerkats. On Friday I noticed that there were some dominance issues in the mob, I knew one female was pregnant, but had no idea there was another pregnancy in your mob. I am glad you got the trouble sorted out and have separated the offenders. You do have your hands full with all those meerkats. I enjoyed seeing the pups, even though they are getting big now, but I spend so many hours and took 1200 pictures of nothing but Meerkats. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to see these wonderful creatures and see them interact they way they do. Kudos to you for taking such good care of your meerkat mobs. It shows. And you are right, meerkats are never boring. I hope to make the return drive in the fall and revisit your little meerkat manors.

By: Mae in NJ

Mae in NJ — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 20:14:53 +0000

Another great blog, Laura. I especially liked the description of the meerkats as ” very squirmy and ‘bitey’ ” .
But of course, I wasn’t the one handling them!

Hope Seronga recovers completely – with the TLC at the SDZ is there any doubt?
Good luck to Kasane and her pups.

Meerkats are never be boring, and your blogs are never boring either! Thank you.