Four Meerkat pups are fast becoming the star attraction at Blackpool Zoo after being born last month. Their mother arrived from the Cotswolds Wildlife Park in January 2012 and became pregnant within months. Keepers were thrilled to find the four pups doing well and feeding from mum on the morning of July 4 after an 11 week gestation period. 

Sofie Fawzy, Senior Mammal Keeper at Blackpool Zoo, said: “Meerkats have gone from virtual obscurity to super stars in the past three years here at the zoo, and we are really pleased to welcome the four tiny pups to our meerkat family. Meerkat adoptions have gone through the roof and there is always a crowd watching the comical creatures."

Over the next two months the babies will become more and more independent, becoming fully weaned and eating solids withing 49 to 63 days. Blackpool Zoo’s Meerkat mob is fed on a diet of chicken, mice, beef chunks, mealworms and fruit and vegetables. In the wild, Meerkats live in the deserts and grasslands of the southern tip of Africa.

Photo Credit: Blackpool Zoo