Smithsonian Zoo Welcomes First Meerkat Pups in 16 Years

Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute welcomed three baby meerkats to their mob on May 10, the first pups born at the zoo in 16 years.

Footage from the zoo shows the three new additions, which have not yet been named or had their sexes determined.

The pups are the first offspring for five-year-old mother Sadie. The father of the litter, six-year-old Frankie, had sired pups at a previous zoo.

Animal care staff are leaving the meerkats to be raised by their parents and the mob, the zoo said, and have already seen Sadie nursing the pups, which appeared “healthy and strong”. Credit: Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute via Storyful

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