On the 10^th February 2016, Pippa, our dominant female Meerkat gave birth to pups! They are doing very well and mum is being very attentive.

As they continue to grow stronger they can now be seen outside where the rest of the group are pitching in and helping out with some babysitting! The young pups are beginning to gain more confidence every day and are gradually making their way around the enclosure and exploring!

A highly sociable animal, meerkats are known to live in large groups abd it won’t be long before these playful pups are eating only solid foods and becoming more independent as they learn from the older members of the group.

Our meerkats are fed a mixed diet of chicks, fruit, vegetables and meal worms which are usually scattered around the enclosure and hidden in logs and burrows so the group has to search for them, this encourages their natural foraging behaviour.

You can see our newest arrivals at ‘Suricata Sands’ as they continue to learn the ropes of being meerkats!

Did you know!? Meerkats are listed as ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN Red list and the continued breeding success at Colchester Zoo is also a great sign that the survival of this species is secure.

Find out how you could meet our meerkats here.

Sadly our breeding male Robbie has recently passed away. He was an elderly meerkat and partner to our dominany female Pippa. Robbie unfortunately, due to his age, had ongoing health issues which he was being treated for and his keepers arrived to find that he had passed away in his sleep. Robbie was a much loved resident here at Colchester Zoo and leaves a great legacy behind with his meerkat family at Suricata Sands and will be greatly missed by many.