A 7th Litter of Meerkats
Posted at 10:27 am July 22, 2008 by Laura WeinerThe last time I wrote, Kasane had been removed from the meerkat group at the San Diego Zoo and Ngami was about ready to give birth (see blog, Meerkats: Never a Dull Moment). As always with this group, there are twists and turns wherever we look. Kasane was put in a holding pen behind the small cats on Elephant Mesa. She was very curious and could be seen from the guest sidewalk. A few times I had someone ask, “Is there supposed to be a meerkat back there?” It was quite funny for people to see nosy little Kasane staring at them from “behind the scenes”!
Soon after her move, a young male from a meerkat group located next to the Zoo’s Kopje exhibit was introduced to her. I always worry when introducing meerkats, but in this situation Kasane was looking for a friend, not an enemy. She was very interested in this little boy and followed him around her exhibit for a while. Later they were found cuddling in an unused drinker. So cute!
As for Ngami, on June 23 she gave birth to six pups! This is her largest litter of the seven she has had at the San Diego Zoo. The only way we believed it was when our evening keeper actually took a photo of all six pups in a tub filled with hay one early evening. As usual, Ngami brought the kids out on the first day. We have learned to adapt to this group of meerkats and their pup-rearing style. Once again I told Ngami to put the pups back in the den and she did. I began to shave each one in a different spot to identify them; it is tough to keep track of six pups! For the last two weeks or so we have only been seeing four pups and believe the other two passed on. It is a lot of work to care for six pups and the group is doing a great job with the remaining four.
Yesterday was the first day they were really moving around the exhibit well. It is always so cute when they start to try to stand up like their older siblings. They are so wobbly and usually fall down before even getting halfway there. I also noticed them starting to dig. The main daily activity of a meerkat consists of vigorous digging for a large portion of the day. And since these are Ngami’s offspring, I know they will be champion diggers like their mom.
Make sure to stop by Elephant Mesa to see this group of meerkats. You’ll know you’ve arrived when you see a crowd of people at the exhibit oohing and aahing.
Laura Weiner is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
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July 22nd, 2008 at 11:02 am
aahhh…..more babies!
Always a blessing. I love to read all the blogs. 2 new ones today. Thanks for keeping us informed with ALL the animals.
July 22nd, 2008 at 11:26 am
Laura, Thanks for the update, in the previous blog there was a possibility that Kasane was pregnant also. anything happening there. It’s nice to see that she has a new friend to keep her company. thanks for all your interesting blogs and your hard work keeping all the babies healthy and happy.
July 22nd, 2008 at 1:20 pm
How wonderful! I can hardly wait to see them. Thank you for this delightful, informative blog.
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Oh, a picture of the baby meerkats . . . any chance of a share? Even if not, thanks for the great post. How sweet for Kasane to have a new snuggle-buddy!
July 23rd, 2008 at 5:53 am
What a wonderful update. Glad to hear the pups and family are doing well. Also I am very happy Kasane has a friend, and better yet its great they are getting along. I must make the journey over from Arizona to see the new pups. Thanks again Laura for doing such a great job with these precious furries.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:13 am
Hi, Laura! Thanks for the update about the newest litter of meerkat pups! I’m glad that you are still enforcing the rule on Ngami to keep her newborn pups inside the den for 3 weeks. Looks like that she’s been listening to you and is remembering what you have taught her. Looks like this 7th litter will have a very good start on life! It’s a shame that you had to seperate Kasane from the group, but due to the behavior of Ngami with her, that was a smart move. Ngami would have probably evicted her, and Kasane would have nowhere to go to. I am glad that she has a new buddy with her. Meerkats need other meerkats to socialize with everyday, so this will good for her. Has anybody checked Kasane to see if she is pregnant or not? Ngami reminds me of Nikita on ” Meerkat Manor” as far as behavior and attitude is concerned. Nikita wound up evicting 8 female meerkats out of her group on one episode last week, and from what you were describing about how Ngami was treating Kasane, Kasane would have gone thru the same eviction scenario. Kasane sounds like she’s much happier being in her own world with a new buddy to socialize with now. At least she’s out of Ngami’s eyesight! Any chance of getting them back to the main group or is this a permanent group split?
Gotta go. Keep us updated about the newest pups and if they have any names!
Thanks,
Chari Mercier
St. Pete, FL
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Laura thanks for sharing the news about the new pups, can’t wait to see them. I’m coming out there from Chicago and will be a part of the meerkat meet-up on August 3rd with other meerkat lovers at your zoo.
I too remember reading that Kasane may also be pregnant, is she or did she lose her pups from the stress of being removed from the others? At least she has a friend to keep her company, too bad we can’t get a burrowmate for Chico at the LA Zoo.
Again thanks for sharing the news with us, it’s just too bad that 2 didn’t make it.
Angie aka Meerkata
July 24th, 2008 at 10:49 am
To answer the Kasane question….I was never 100% sure she was pregnant but she seemed to be gaining alot of weight quickly. And there had been some younger males trying to breed with her recently. Since she moved to the other area she has lost her belly and no pups were ever seen. So we are assuming if she was pregnant she lost the pups or wasn’t pregnant to start with.
Thank you all for being so concerned. The meerkats thank you too!
July 29th, 2008 at 7:41 am
I visited the zoo yesterday and got some absolutely adorable photos of the pups being cared for by the adults. Everyone seemed to be involved in child/pup rearing. They are precious and so much fun to watch.
July 30th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
It’s good to hear about birth of the new pups. Thank God there lives with be free of danger and perils of the Kalahari. I feel for the meerkats at the Meerkat Manor!
August 14th, 2008 at 9:39 am
Please Laura give us a update on the new pup and does it have a name
Laura responds: A friend of mine just returned from seeing meerkats in the wild and brought some great ideas. Names are coming soon!
August 16th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Great Laura, I cannot wait to see what the pups names will be. I am going to drive the 6 hour drive over to see the pups on Wednesday, hopefully they will have their names then. I look forward to seeing all the SDZ meerkat families.
August 30th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I am so pleased to have stumbled upon this wonderful, joyful blog.
I will return here often, though I have not been to the San Diego zoo in years. I loved it then, as well as the artisan village just below the zoo and a wonderful silversmith named Jimenez. With the attraction of multiple mobs of meerkats, I suspect this will be sufficient motivation to get us to Southern California in the near future.
MEERKATS RULE!!!