Meerkats ~ Petunia’s Tale

Did you know meerkats are very intelligent animals. They can use up to 10 different vocalizations. When ever danger is spotted near by, the meerkats will often bark as to warn their other family members! You can learn more about these intelligent creatures by visiting the Calgary Zoo or click the button down below.

BEHAVIOUR

I noticed that when I had gone to the Calgary Zoo, one meerkat stood on high ground, watching, while the other meerkats scavenged around.

Recently, when I had visited them on November 14th, their behaviour seemed to have changed. I noticed that all the meerkats were on one side of the enclosure and not on the other. it seemed as if something had disturbed them. The other side was filled with so much enrichment, but the meerkats ignored it.

MEERKATS SCHEDULE

While contemplating, I had a sudden idea. The meerkats must’ve been disturbed by the time change. In the day, the meerkats have so much to do. They have to make their burrows, scavenge around, and have enough time to play. So now because the day is shorter and night is longer, I suppose they have to search, scavenge, hunt, and then play.

TREVOR’S ENRICHMENT

Today the zoo keeper was out so we got ask him some questions. His name was Trevor. He was super helpful and answered all our questions.

Trevor told us that boy meerkats have short, thick tails, and girl meerkats have long, thin, tails. Now I can finally tell if the meerkats are boys or girls.

While he was talking, he got a huge bin full of coco peat. As soon as he came closer to the meerkats, they all stopped what they were doing and stared at him. It was as though they knew food was coming beforehand. Maybe they have a strong sense of smell.

Trevor poured the contents of the bin. Immediately, the meerkats attacked it, exploring through and munching on what looked like grubs. Trevor said that the coco peat is filled with veggies, yams, mealworms, etc.

PETUNIA’S TALE

In the entire group of meerkats, there was only one that I really knew. Her name was Petunia. In order to tell who was who, we made specific marking about that animal. For Petunia, the end of her tail was missing. Trevor told us that long ago, Petunia’s sister was the leader of the mob. Then Petunia wanted to be the leader, so they had a great, big, fight. In the end, Petunia became the leader, but her sister bit off Petunia’s tail.

WHAT IS ENRICHMENT?