A double dose of mini meerkats for Melbourne Zoo's mob
Two tiny new additions to Melbourne Zoo's meerkat mob are delighting visitors as they begin exploring their habitat.
The two pups were born on October 17 and have spent their first few weeks cosied up in a den with their mother, six-year-old Toto, and father, five-year-old Malu.
Melbourne Zoo Carnivores and Ungulates Life Sciences Manager, Laura Weiner (pro: wine – er), said the team is stoked to welcome the two tiny pups – the first to be born there in five years.
“They were a bit of a surprise,” Ms Weiner said. “We had been wondering why Toto wasn’t getting pregnant, as we had observed mating. During checks to investigate her fertility, happily the vet team discovered she was already pregnant.
“It’s the first time we have had cameras in the nest boxes and it has been fascinating to see the birth and first few weeks of the pups’ life.
“Toto is doing a great job with her first litter. She is very attentive, doing everything she should – cleaning them, feeding them and making sure they urinate and defecate.”
Dad Malu has also been helping out, bringing food into the nest so Toto can eat while she is nursing the pups.
The pups’ sex will be revealed when they undergo their first vet checks and vaccinations later this month.
Their arrival brings the Zoo’s total number of meerkats, including those housed at the Royal Children’s Hospital, to 17.
The pups currently live with Toto and Malu in the ‘Growing Wild’ section of Melbourne Zoo near the front entrance. Breeding is beneficial for the mating pair and the mob, bringing increased social activity that includes having more meerkats for sentry duty, playing and food foraging.
Meerkats live in groups called mobs, love to burrow and keep watch of their territory by posting one member at a high location within their habitat as a sentry to keep watch for predators. Although there are no real threats at the Zoo, the mob still practises this instinctive behaviour.
Entry to Melbourne Zoo, Werribee Open Range Zoo, Healesville Sanctuary and Kyabram Fauna Park is free for children under 16 years during Victorian school holidays, public holidays and weekends.