Jane Healy, Auckland Zoo
The Zoo’s meerkat mob has grown significantly in recent days with the birth of these four tiny, and healthily vocal, pups!
Our Carnivore team say first-time mother Adia, who gave birth last week, is doing an excellent job with her newborns so far and they are suckling well. A newborn meerkat weighs just 25 – 36 grams, about the size of a tablespoon!
Meerkat pups are born totally blind; their eyes don’t open until eight to 10 days of age, and they remain completely dependent on their mother for their first weeks of life.
Carnivore team leader Nick says visitors could potentially catch a glimpse of the pups if Adia is moving them between the multiple outside and inside nesting site options, he and the team have provided her with. However, it’ll be three to four weeks before the pups are independent enough to be venturing out into the Africa Safari Track habitat under her guidance.
“As with any mother and her newborns, our role as zookeepers is to keep a respectful distance, while ensuring Adia has the right environment, and importantly, the best nutrition as a lactating mother, to support her in successfully rearing her pups,” says Nick.
“Given she is a first-time mother, as is expected, Adia is still getting the hang of all that this involves. We have observed her very carefully carrying her pups to different nesting sites, which are provided with clean bedding material. Reassuringly, this behaviour of her moving her pups around reflects what a meerkat mother would be doing in the wild.”
At 12 days old, the pups have been given a health check by our veterinary team, assisted by our amazing carnivore keepers. To ensure a smooth process, all three adult meerkats - including first-time mum Adia - were temporarily moved to their inside area while this took place.
Our vet team gave each individual pup a physical exam: checking their teeth and palates, coat quality, paws and umbilicus. Our keepers also carefully placed each pup on a wooden platform attached to a scale for weighing. All pups weighed just over 70 grams, which is a healthy weight for their age.
Meerkat pups are born with their eyelids still closed, and while most have full opened already, two pups have partially closed eyes which is normal at this stage.
“Adia is an excellent mother and remained calm and attentive throughout this process. We’re pleased to report that at this stage, each of the four pups appears healthy and strong,” explains carnivore keeper Emma.
To help identify each pup, our keepers have applied a dot of (non-toxic) paint on their coat. Their sexes will be confirmed when they are a bit older and more developed. It’s likely to be a few more weeks until Zoo visitors can get a clear view of the pups.
These tiny quadruplets (a normal litter size for meerkats), along with Adia and the two adult males, have increased the Zoo’s mob to seven.
Auckland Zoo is part of the zoos-based Australasian Species Management Programme for Slender-tailed meerkats. A species native to the dry plains, savannah, and grassland regions of southern Africa, meerkats play an important role in the ecosystem. They help manage invertebrate populations (a key food source), assist in soil health – by aerating the soil through their burrowing activities, and are also an important food source for predators.
