Compare the meerkats in a baby boom

BELFAST ZOO is celebrating a baby zoom after three young meerkats joined its ranks. The new additions joing three adult females and two adult male meerkats and follow the recent birth of a black-tailed prairie dog. The infant meerkats have just started to make their first public appearances and zoo staff said they were delighted by the good news.

Belfast zoo curator of the new babies said: 'The size and cute behaviour of the new babies will no doubt make them popular with our visitors. It is always great to see the arrival of new animals in the zoo.'

Staff said the babies can be best seen in the morning. The zoo added: 'Meerkats are a type of mongoose. Unlike other mongooses which are solitary and nocturna, meerkats live in large groups and come out during the day. They are often seen standing up on their hind legs, propped up by their tails, looking out for birds. Meerkats are found in savannahs and open plains of southern Africa. They can measure up to 35cm and their tails can reach 25cm. They weigh up to 730 grams.'

The animals have been popularised by BBC documentary-style series Meerkay Manor and online sensation Russian aristocrat meerkat Aleksander Orlov. The BBC series, blending actual footage with dramatic narration, tells the story of the Whiskers, a meerkat family living in the Kalahari Desert. Aleksander Orlov was a hit when he appeared in an ad for comparethemarket.com.

Metro.co.uk, Tuesday 11 August 2009, p8.