A litter of pups is undeniably adorable, but what about a pair of meerkat pups?
Werribee Open Range Zoo has two new additions to their meerkat family and the verdict is in – adorable!
Mum Akili gave birth to the twins on January 16 and the mini-meerkats are starting to find their feet, spending more time outside their burrow.
Their hearing and sight is steadily developing, and zoo keeper Denny Burgoyne says the youngsters are doing well.
“The pups are becoming a lot more confident and are now often spotted playing together in the sand,” Ms Burgoyne said.
“It’s quite incredible to see how the adults work together as a team, with each taking turns as sentry to watch over them.”
A video camera in the burrow allows keepers to keep a close eye on the family without disturbing them.
“During the first few nights, the group didn’t get much sleep as they adjusted to their new routine of caring for the youngsters,” said Ms Burgoyne.
“As the days went on, however, they became more relaxed and mum very quickly perfected the skill of being able to nap and nurse at the same time.”
It will be another few weeks before the team can determine the sex of the pups and name them.
Meerkats are native to arid areas of Africa. They live together in extended family groups and take turns to scan the skies on the lookout for predators.
