Japanese photographer mamekoro51 has probably the
most pleasant hobby one could imagine – taking photos of baby animals of
various types.
On a recent visit to Inokashira Natural Cultural
Park in Musashino City, Tokyo, the animal lover came across an adorable meerkat
family with newborn pups, one of whom was a little shy for the camera.
Peeping cautiously from behind a wall, this little
meerkat seemed to be afraid at first. However, after a little time, it emerged
from its hiding place to say hello, and people are just in love!
The meerkat is a small carnivoran in the mongoose
family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much
of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa.
A group of meerkats is called a “mob”, “gang” or
“clan”. A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some
super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average
life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild.
Meerkats babysit the young in the group. Females
that have never produced offspring of their own often lactate to feed the alpha
pair’s young and they also protect the young from threats, often endangering
their own lives.
On warning of danger, the babysitter takes the
young underground to safety and is prepared to defend them if the danger
follows.
Like many species, meerkat young learn by observing
and mimicking adult behavior, though adults also engage in active instruction.
For example, meerkat adults teach their pups how to eat a venomous scorpion:
they will remove the stinger and help the pup learn how to handle the creature.
Despite this altruistic behavior, meerkats
sometimes kill young members of their group. Subordinate meerkats have been
seen killing the offspring of more senior members in order to improve their own
offspring’s position.
Meerkats become sexually mature at about two years
of age and can have one to four pups in a litter, with three pups being the
most common litter size. The pups are allowed to leave the burrow at two to
three weeks old.
Inokashira Park Zoo is located in a quiet and
distinctive suburb of Tokyo. It exhibits a variety of Japanese species and
contributes to the conservation and breeding of Japanese squirrels, mandarin
ducks, and swans. The park also comprises a pond, a botanical garden and Seibo
Kitamura (Japanese sculptor) Museum.
Other animals at the zoo include: Asiatic
elephants, rhesus monkeys, raccoons, fennecs, Japanese serows, Japanese
martens, masked palm civets, Amur cats, raccoon dogs, Japanese squirrels,
red-crowned cranes, Japanese birds, tropical birds, mandarin ducks and swans.
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