Aja Pendergrast, Auckland Zoo
We have just welcomed a new arrival to Auckland Zoo – female meerkat Adia!
This nine-month-old female has joined our mob of male meerkats, brothers Tazama and Jua. Our carnivore keepers have given her the name ‘Adia’ (A-dea) as it means ‘gift’ in Swahili.
She arrived in November from our friends at Natureland Wildlife Trust as part of the zoos advocacy and breeding programme for this small yet charismatic African mongoose. It’s our hope that once she reaches maturity (around 12 months old) she will be able to have young of her own – which for meerkats can be 2-5 pups a litter.
“Yesterday we introduced Adia to our meerkat males and all three are getting along well. They were found sleeping together in a puddle of meerkats this morning, and can be seen digging and interacting together throughout the day. It's still early days with them adjusting to their new group dynamics, but it's going incredibly smoothly!," explains carnivore keeper Emma.
Come and see if you can spot her at our Africa Safari Track this week! Top Tip - she has a slender face and is slightly smaller than the males.
