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Baby meerkats in Botswana (Original Post) onestepforward Apr 2014 OP
Squeeeeeeee! SunSeeker Apr 2014 #1
One can never have enough baby meerkats. R&K nt longship Apr 2014 #2
I wish I could have an entire clan. I love them. asjr Apr 2014 #3
Third picture: "Mom! Can I keep 'im, pleeeeeeeze?" n/t sarge43 Apr 2014 #4
They are tiny! treestar Apr 2014 #5
Who knew that baby meerkats were into photography? (Picture 4) sinkingfeeling Apr 2014 #6
Of course, they're trying to get a picture to contribute to the Sunday LOL cats rwsanders Apr 2014 #11
Adorable vicious meerkats! Solly Mack Apr 2014 #7
Those are so darn cute ..... cute overload. cntrygrl Apr 2014 #8
Cute little guys. Are baby meerkats called meerkittens? The Velveteen Ocelot Apr 2014 #9
I thik the babies would be "merecittens." Behind the Aegis Apr 2014 #12
perfect passiveporcupine Apr 2014 #16
The pedant in me had to immediately google FarrenH Apr 2014 #23
Wouldn't mongoose babies be "mongoslings"? The Velveteen Ocelot Apr 2014 #24
I believe for meerkats it's pup. TDale313 Apr 2014 #26
awwww ScootersPixiePie Apr 2014 #10
Pictures 1 and 5 are babies. The one on the photograper is an adult. jmondine Apr 2014 #13
omg I that guy is so hot Skittles Apr 2014 #14
I'd trade meerkats for the moles in my lawn any day! passiveporcupine Apr 2014 #15
They're very cute and fun to watch. Brigid Apr 2014 #17
That's what you took away from Meerkat Manor? FarrenH Apr 2014 #22
The camera loves them ... surrealAmerican Apr 2014 #18
OMG I love those photos rudolph the red Apr 2014 #19
.... 840high Apr 2014 #20
I saw them in real life for the first time last year FarrenH Apr 2014 #21
They look similar to the mongoose that always were frequenting garbage heaps in Vietnam...... 4bucksagallon Apr 2014 #25

FarrenH

(768 posts)
23. The pedant in me had to immediately google
Fri Apr 11, 2014, 07:57 AM
Apr 2014

for the correct name for mongoose babies, since meerkats aren't cats, but a species of social mongoose. Couldn't find one. So what the hell, "meerkittens" works. They were misnamed meerkats in the first place because of mistaken identification anyway ("kat" is Afrikaans/Dutch for "cat&quot

TDale313

(7,820 posts)
26. I believe for meerkats it's pup.
Sat Apr 12, 2014, 12:49 AM
Apr 2014

I got results googling meerkat cub and babies, too, but pup seemed to have the most official looking results. (It's kinda what I remembered from occasionally watching "meerkat manor" too)

Brigid

(17,621 posts)
17. They're very cute and fun to watch.
Wed Apr 9, 2014, 05:10 PM
Apr 2014

Last edited Thu Apr 10, 2014, 09:43 PM - Edit history (1)

But they can also be vicious little things. Have you ever seen "Meerkat Manor?"

FarrenH

(768 posts)
21. I saw them in real life for the first time last year
Thu Apr 10, 2014, 07:54 PM
Apr 2014

Sadly, not in their natural environment but in a very large enclosure at a wildlife park outside Johannesburg (the one where "Lion Whisperer" Kevin Richardson used to work). They're as animated in real life as I imagined from Meerkat Manor, so that's not just selective editing. Since they're well fed at the park, they just play all the time. My nephew's girlfriend put her hand down into the enclosure and a whole mob of them came to investigate, taking turns to sniff it. It made me sad, seeing them restricted like that. I've never really liked zoos and although the park has much bigger enclosures than an urban zoo for most of the animals (the main attraction being lions, who have several acres to roam), it's still restrictive. Still, such charming, funny animals in real life. I could have stood there watching them play for hours. Seeing the meerkats was a bigger highlight than seeing the lions.

4bucksagallon

(975 posts)
25. They look similar to the mongoose that always were frequenting garbage heaps in Vietnam......
Fri Apr 11, 2014, 10:27 PM
Apr 2014

Good at killing snakes, insects and rodents, wish I had a couple of them for the cobras and other venomous snakes that infrequently show up here.

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