Trio of Meerkat Kits Born at Paradise Wildlife Park

On February 14, Meerkat mom Twig delivered three kits at the
Paradise Wildlife Park in the United Kingdom.
The little Meerkats, all males, were named Mr. Darcy, Romeo, and Puck
after characters in classic romantic stories.
The trio’s arrival brings the grand total of Meerkats at the park to 13.

Photo Credits: Paradise Wildlife Park

It doesn’t take Meerkat kits very long to become busy,
active members of their clan. At about
three weeks old, the kits emerged from the burrow for the first time and quickly
learned to forage with the adults. They
now spend much of their day investigating their exhibit and playing with each
other, according to the Park’s staff.

In the wild, Meerkats construct a complex system of
underground burrows in which they sleep, bear young, and hide from
predators. They live in family groups of
20-30 individuals and often share duties parenting the young, acting as
lookouts, and babysitting kits. Meerkats
spend most of the day foraging for insects, bird and reptile eggs, lizards,
scorpions, spiders, and small mammals.

Meerkats are native to southernmost Africa, where they
inhabit portions of the Kalahari and Namib deserts, Angola, and South
Africa. They are not considered a
threatened species.

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