Meerkats galore for Telford's Exotic Zoo

The Exotic Zoo in Priorslee, Telford, hadn't ever had any baby meerkats until the start of this year, but now four lots of youngsters have been born at the attraction.

Owner Scott Adams said power struggles between the female meerkats meant it took a long time for the animals to mate.

"We've got crocodiles and we've got giant snakes, but the animal that always gives us the headaches are the meerkats," he said.

"They are probably our hardest and most difficult to manage animal. If one female thinks she's dominant and so does the other, they can fight, kick them out of the group and it's not unheard of for them to kill.

"We've got four groups of meerkats at the zoo, and that's been created out of things that have happened in our two existing groups. It's a daily struggle keeping them apart.

"Meerkats are so cute though, and they do deserve the pedestal they've been put on. I can still stop in the morning and watch them for 30 minutes. Everything they do is so interesting and comical."

Now that the meerkats have started breeding, there has been a steady stream of babies throughout the last seven months.

"In the wild they can be very prolific," Scott said. "They can have quite a lot in a year. After the mother gives birth, she can become pregnant the next day.

"It's nice for us, because until the conditions are right and the mother is happy and settled, they're not going to have babies."

It's been hard work keeping the animals at the Exotic Zoo cool during the heatwave.

"The meerkats have been coping with the heat better than we have," Scott said. "They're from the desert, they have been in their element.

"It has been hard work for some of the other animals though. We went through one of the coldest winters and struggled to keep everything warm in the snow. Now we're having the opposite problem.

"We've been giving them fruit ice lollies every day, big bottles of frozen water. It's definitely been a challenge."