Cologne (dpa / lnw) – They are alert, cute and bustling: there is an addition to the meerkat family in Cologne Zoo. The small predators were born in a cave in their facility in mid-August. Unfortunately, a young animal lost mom and clan leader “Babetje” shortly after birth, the zoo announced on Thursday.
According to the zoo, the senior female of the meerkat clan has about three to five babies up to three times a year. The last time there was a litter was in the spring. The young animals are initially naked and blind and remain in the underground burrow for the first few weeks after birth. They don’t have a name yet – before that, the sex has to be named.
The four young animals are already on the move with their babysitters – adult meerkats – through the facility. “The young animals only eat what their babysitter puts in front of them,” explained one animal keeper. Ground beef is good food to start with. “They start doing their first digging exercises at five or six weeks.”
