Meerkat babies debut after Five Sisters Zoo fire

Two baby meerkats make their public debut yesterday at a zoo where a fire killed 12 members of their family.

The two meerkat cubs were born to mum Annie who was badly burned in the fire. Picture: HeMedia

Only one male and two female meerkats survived the blaze which ripped through Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder, West Lothian, in April. But now the family – or ‘mob’, to use the collective term – is growing again after the birth of these two, a brother and sister, two weeks ago to their mother Annie, who was burned in the fire. Assistant head keeper George Steel said: ‘They are doing really well. They have settled in and everyone loves them. Meerkats don’t reproduce unless they are happy and settled, so obviously the parents have recovered from their ordeal.’ Picture: Hemedia