THREE baby meerkats born at Bristol Zoo have been named Timon, Pumbaa and Rafiki – after characters from Disney's The Lion King.
The triplets arrived three weeks ago and can already be seen exploring their enclosure alongside the adults. Soon they are expected to learn how to forage and dig in the sand for grubs.
The babies weighed just 30g at birth and are being well looked after by the adult meerkats, who take turns minding them.
Keepers have named the trio after the characters in the popular film – the musical adaptation of which comes to the Bristol Hippodrome this September.
Spring is a popular time of year for animal births at the zoo and the warmer weather means youngsters can often be spotted exploring their new surroundings.
Simon Butler, overseer of mammals, said: "The meerkats were tiny when they were born, with very little fur and eyes tightly closed.
"They are still too small to sex, but we should know if they are males or females in another few months."
Last year Bristol Zoo opened a new, state-of-the-art £100,000 meerkat enclosure, called Meerkat Lookout.
At 152-square metres in size, it is more than three times bigger than the previous enclosure, with space for up to 25 meerkats.
It has indoor and outdoor areas for the meerkats and the public, a tunnel and two viewing domes for visitors to get up-close to the animals at eye-level.
To find out more about adopting a meerkat at Bristol Zoo, visit www.bristolzoo.org.uk / unique-gifts -and-experiences or phone 0117 974 7300.
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