Fota has welcomed the birth of three meerkats - the first at the wildlife park in over a decade.
The pups were born on 19 September to mother Biggy, who came to Fota from the Netherlands, and father Snaggle, who moved from Adrmore Open Farm, Waterford.The last set of Meerkat babies were born in Fota in March 2013.
Lead Ranger Teresa Power said:"We were delighted to spot the babies out and about last month, they are so active in their habitat. "We do not know yet whether the babies are male or female, as they are being well guarded by the other members of the mob and will immediately run underground and hide in one of the many tunnels they call home if they feel at all unsure about anything.
"However, they are being trained by our rangers to come out for food when called and we plan to develop this further as they grow older, as part of Fota Wildlife Park's training and enrichment programme." Measuring up to 35cm in length and weighing up to 730grams, meerkats have four long, strong claws on each paw to aid with burrowing and like to stand on hind legs from high vantage points when possible.
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