Whipsnade has caved 
and built a meerkat exhibit for the first time.
The ?fab four? move in! - News - ZSL Whipsnade Zoo - ZSL
and built a meerkat exhibit for the first time.The ?fab four? move in! - News - ZSL Whipsnade Zoo - ZSL
ZSL Whipsnade Zoo Whipsnade
- Thread starter orang09
- Start date
Writhedhornbill
Well-Known Member
Why do captive meerkats always seem fatter than their wild counterparts?
It's a diet thing. When i worked with meerkats briefly, we gave them mostly meat and veg and this was supplemented by the occaisonal portion of insects.
I guess in the wild, the majority of a meerkat's diet would consist of insects and that would be supplemented by plants and small mammals.
The fat content in the meat in captive meerkat's diets is what causes the 'plumper' meerkats.
dragon(ele)nerd
Well-Known Member
Meerkats also get quite a bit of exercise in the wild as well, fights between groups aren't uncommon.
taun
Well-Known Member
Meerkats often travel large distances in the wild nearly every day where, in zoo's the largest enclosure I have seen as not be more than hundred square metres and some as all as tne squre metres!
But then in any bigger enclosures, the Meerkats would be lost and not viewable!
When I saw them they(Jony & Coco) were in the 'chimpnasium', while the larger group were in the old small outdoor cage without access to the Island. I guess this pair had access to the old outdoor cage when the group were using the island.
It is only speculation but I feel it was unlikely to have been a concentrated escape effort on their part, more likely a 'walkout'...
sorry didnt realise this but are there two chimp enclosures?
where is this small outdoor enclosure and island?
It is part of the same complex.
There is the indoor 'chimpnasium', a large planted island and a small enclosure which is similar in style to that of the old sobell cages at London.
The chimp enclosure is not far from the entrance (near the wolves, wisent and lemurs)
Yes, the indoor area leads off to both the island and the cage and when Johnny and Coco lived in the cage, they alternated use of the indoor on-show area with the island group.
The island and indoor area was developed a few years ago
Our chimps have a new home! - News - ZSL Whipsnade Zoo - ZSL
MARK
Well-Known Member
The land taken up by the Island was first developed(1990's?) for the chimps as a grassy undulating paddock surrounded by electrified netting. More recently the wide moat was added turning it into an island. I preferred it when it was the electric fence as you could get a much closer view of the chimps.