Zookeepers say the three meerkat kits will be named once their sexes are identified. Photo / Greg Bowker
Zookeepers say the three meerkat kits will be named once their sexes are identified. Photo / Greg Bowker
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They're cute and fluffy and will go down in history as the first meerkats born at Auckland Zoo. The triplets were born three weeks ago but have only just started to venture out of their burrow to explore.
Zookeepers are maintaining a "hands-off" approach at the moment, sothe sex of the triplets won't be known for a couple of weeks. Once that is known, they will be named.
The triplets' father and mother - Mbembe and Umi - are proving to be great parents to their new offspring, says Auckland Zoo carnivore keeper Justine Woosnam.
"As you would expect to happen in the wild, Umi is spending most of her time on sentry duty, and also finding food to satisfy her voracious appetite while she continues to milk-feed the kits. Dad Mbembe is very much the full-time babysitter."
She said meerkats had a complex and fascinating social structure.
"It's been a real privilege for us to watch the hierarchy within our group sort itself out, and of course, to now welcome these beautiful kits."
