Meerkat Cohabitation

Hi all. I’ve recently been promoted at my work (small zoo) so now have the freedom to think about which animals we need to draw the public in and be a little different.

I have a friend with meerkats available but I’m unsure whether to go ahead, although they’re very popular they’re very common! I would however consider them if there were hope of having a mixed species exhibit in the future.

Aside from mongoose and porcupines, have any of you seen captive meerkats living successfully with anything else??


Thank you! ☺️☺️

 

London Zoo tried meerkats with lions, but it didn't work out.

 

I don't believe this is true (although London Zoo did briefly keep meerkats in the giraffe paddock).

 

Never mind, your'e right. It was Antwerp I was thinking of.

 

Aardvarks with meerkats at Chester and London.

 

Here is what is listed on zooinstitutes:

Meerkat/African Spurred Tortoise/Indian Crested Porcupine - Nahariya Zoo
Meerkat/African Crested Porcupine - Zoo Basel

 

Thank you! We do have an African Spurred although I’m sure they aren’t found in South Africa, I wouldn’t want species together who aren’t actually found together in the wild but it would look good haha shame

 

At the Dallas Zoo, they've mixed their meerkats with some leopard tortoises.

 

I like that you're going for as natural as possible most zoo's would put species together as long they are from the same continent and same general habitat (for example placing African antelopes together that live on completely different parts of the continent). If you are allowed to share, what's the zoo's name?

As for suggested mixes, the only ones I've ever heard of have already been mentioned: aardvarks, porcupines, or tortoises. Well actually I have seen them mixed with northern red-billed hornbills but those are also out of their range. Perhaps you could find a different bird that lives alongside them?

 

Would Meerkats mix with Rosy-Faced Lovebirds? They're found in the same habitat and I can't imagine they would be too difficult to obtain in the UK. Of course, I'm not sure this has been tried before, so it may be a bit of a risk. But I can't think of any obvious problems.

 

Easily obtained, usually known in aviculture as Peach-faced Lovebirds. Meerkats would eat them.
Meerkats have mixed successfully at Newquay Zoo in the past, with Plains Zebra and Lechwe.

 

Utterly terrible idea. The Meerkats would chew them up the second they could. It would be quite the enrichment for them, though!

 

skansen akvariet has meerkat + baboons

 

Riga Zoo keeps them with with rock hyraxes - I'm pretty sure I've also seen or heard about this mix elsewhere, but I can't remember where.

 

Meerkats with gorilla's at Artis in Amsterdam

 

Auckland Zoo actually has a large walkthrough aviary with lovebirds and a meerkat enclosure in it and it seemed to work, but it was a pretty large aviary...

 

It was actually a yellow mongoose that got killed and eaten by a lioness at Antwerp Zoo, not a meerkat.

When the current lion exhibit at Antwerp was first opened they attempted to introduce both meerkats and yellow mongoose into the lion exhibit, with tunnels allowing these species to get to their own area.

However, not only did the mix with the lions not work out and was it discontinued after the mongoose was killed, the mix of meerkats and yellow mongoose quite predictably didn't work out either and was also discontinued. Antwerp still keeps both species, but the yellow mongoose have since returned to their original exhibit (the old small deer exhibit).

To end with a more positive note, the Rotterdam Zoo/Diergaarde Blijdorp seem to successfully mix meerkat with African spurred tortoise and cape porcupine (at least until recently, as according to ZTL the last porcupine has recently passed away).

 

In Haugaland zoo, they keep their meerkats with three african spurred tortoises and four leopard tortoises. This had gone well. Only problem is that the meerkats eat the tortoises’ eggs.

 

Could Meerkats coexist with Klipspringer antelope?

 

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo has this mixture in their Desert Dome - there don’t appear to be any visual barriers, at least from a visitor’s perspective. Klipspringers kept to the higher, rocky regions of the enclosure while meerkats preferred the ground level.