Good Jens, I'm glad that time works out...I'll try to be at the LA meerkat enclosure between 10:30 and 11:00 (depends on traffic on the 210 freeway) see you and wcm then.

Oh yeah, Jens, I forgot...I'll bring your free pass to the Living Desert for our meeting on Oct 14th.

Don't know who won the San Deigo visit...just know wcm pulled out, and adopted a visit at Fellow Earthlings instead.

Okay; as I understand it, the SF zoo is meeting on 9/29 at 2pm or 10:30 am? I am going to the link listed here in this thread in order to present my cell phone number too. Anything else I need to know? Please don't hesitate to tell me- I'll be reading this thread regularly for instructions. Thanks so much
Sincerely
2dear_2me

Hi 2 dear...anywhere in California is the early time. Were meeting at the LA zoo between 10:30 and 11:00 to coincide with the meeting in New York...which is 3 hours later. The dedication, as I understand it will be at 11:30 CA time(2:30 NY time). Have fun at your zoo!

I hope it doesn't rain! If not I'll be there!
Don't want the meerkats to get wet do we?

Hildy & Jens, I'm really looking forward to our meetup this Saturday. Since I don't want to try to predict the freeway traffic, I'll assume that I'll be there closer to 11 am than 10:30.

Mlaaiuppa, I don't know who Robertso is either. However, the $380 you didn't bid will get you almost 8 hours with Pam's kats, so that's how I justified stopping at $350.

2Dear, we'll be at the LA zoo by 11 am. Perhaps we can call you from Calif. meerkat enclosure to Calif. meerkat enclosure.

Killilea, do you still plan to be at the SF Zoo this Saturday? Perhaps you & 2Dear can coordinate a time.

Cheryl, do you have the cell numbers yet from each group's phone rep? We should try to get those to each rep in the next day or two for those who would like to test out the sending of pic/vid texts. Personally, I'd like to create a distribution list beforehand, so that each text I send on 9/29 will automatically be sent to all groups. BTW, those volunteering to be phone reps should check with their cell provider company to see what their pic/vid text rates are. I have a very affordable plan, but I want to avoid anyone getting hit with charges they weren't aware of.

West Coast Meerkat: So far I have only two numbers, including yours. However, I did give this Wednesday as the deadline so I am hopeful that we will get more. I will be in Tampa and have no video capabilities on my phone but will take pictures and upload them later. From all acccounts, the Tampa Zoo is a splendid example of a correct meerkat enclosure. I think that a run through on the 27th is a good idea. MEERKATS RULE!!!

Oh, this is getting so exciting...I can't wait! Thanks for taking care of all the cell phone business wcm...see ya soon

Me too Hildy & WCM! I'm very excited, but sad as well. It does not look like I will be able to go to the Living Desert in Oct, but I'm coming to the Zoo this Saturday for sure!!!!!
I'm going to try to get there around 10- 10:15am. I'm excited to share in this event with everyone on both coasts! I hope the SF group get in touch with each other. Do we know how many groups are planning to attend?

If things change for the Oct date, I will let you know Hildy.

Yes, I am taking paratransit but might be there after 11am since the zoo in SF only opens at 10am and it gets cold in SF and I don't want to be exposed to the cold for too long.

I am going to make sure it doesn't rain. I've been checking the weather. My cell phone info has been sent- please call and confirm things for me. Thanks
Flower's spirit LIVES ON!!!!

Jens, I understand about the Living Desert. You're in OC, and we planned the Living Desert before you knew about the LA Zoo meetup, which is likely much easier for you. In my case, I have family in Palm Desert, so I was planning to be there on 10/14 anyway. I'm actually a bit surprised that Hildy is able to make it to both the LA & Palm Desert meetups. From what I can tell, she's in the inland empire, so LA is probably not so convenient. What a trooper!

2Dear, I fully understand. I was in SF last weekend, and it was pretty cold. I didn't have enough time to visit the zoo, but we can additionally meetup there in November as I've been saying. We'll definitely call you on Saturday.

I am a trooper actually though, since the 210 goes all the way thru to the 30, I can make it to both LA and PS in the same amount of time...cause I live just about in the middle.

Anyway Jens...I certainly understand. Just remember my pass is good until March, if you can make the Living Desert another time.

WCM I'm beginning to think you're either a pilot, or railroad engineer...you get around so much. Wow...what fun. Did you notice Pam of FE did not make the final 10 for the heros...I'm bummed.

West_Coast: November sounds fine to me as well. Thanks so much!

Hildy, I'd love to be a pilot, but it's not the case. I live in LA county, which more easily allows me to easily visit the LA Zoo. As mentioned, I have family in Palm Desert, which more easily allows me to visit Fellow Earthlings & the Living Desert. I'm an annual member of the SD Zoo, which more easily allows me to often see their zoo and bypass their $36 entrance fees. My best friend from high school used to live within walking distance of the SD zoo, but he just moved to SF, which is why I was there last weekend to see him & hang out. We then road-tripped it to the Sierra mountains (for the 3rd time this year), as the Gold Country north of Yosemite is probably my favorite area in the USA. While there, I rode their old steam train (the one shown in Back To The Future Part 3), so while I'm not a pilot or train engineer, last Sunday I did fly (back from SF) & ride a train, so I guess that's close, right?

I didn't notice that FE didn't make AP's top-10 until just now. That's too bad, but I do understand if they're looking for more of a grass-roots hero than someone who works closely with AP. However, the ECMS' effort to help captive meerkats in need would probably qualify for eligibility in next year's hero contest. Let's turn lemons into lemonade.

Regarding free passes for zoos, forum members in SoCal may also want to know that Entertainment Books (www.entertainment.com) include zoo passes, in addition to discounts on restaurants, travel, etc... I'll be using their LA Zoo & Living Desert passes for our meerkat meetups. For SF, I'm trying to talk my friend there into getting an annual pass for the SF zoo (like he had for SD) because annual memberships come with additional guest passes.

See what I mean...what a weekend...last Sunday I corrected papers...another reason I am looking so forward to this Saturdays zoo visit.

Wow- Hildy & WCM you are both quite busy! Oct is a busy month for me (my B-Day is Oct 3rd) and I have quite a bit going on, as well as my sister is coming out too visit, so adding the Oct 14 visit would be too much. Luckily this Sat works perfect for me. I am planning a visit with to the Fellow Earthlings Wildlife Center and will try to hit up the Living Desert in the same visit- just depends what month it will be in? By the way, I'm actually in SFV area.

2dear_2me.. glad to hear you will make it to the SF Zoo on Sat! Has anyone else confirmed to meet up with you for sure?

Does anyone know if the Ireland or UK groups are meeting up?

Well Happy Almost Birthday Jens...a Libra...my rising sign...glad we'll meet on Sat...Hildy

Happy Birthday to all our celebrating kats!

• Mitch 9/16
  
• Sophie, Tina Sparkle and Spud 9/27 (TODAY!)
  
• jensmeerkats 10/3

Jens, can we then assume you haven't scheduled your Fellow Earthlings visit if you don't know your month yet? The wait is now back to Summer '08 (100+ degree temps in Morongo Valley). You may wish to schedule around Oct '08 so it won't be too hot. Get the request in now though.

What a happy time this is:

• The Three Amigos are named
  
• Sophie, Tina Sparkle and Spud celebrate turning 3 yrs old
  
• This Saturday, many of us will unite around meerkats and swap photos while there
  
• Even the "tragedy" has brought us closer (see below)

(if it wasn't for the whiskers, most of us wouldn't even know about the ECMS and the amigos might not yet have their new names or facility)

No one has telephoned me as of yet. But I'll be there! Thanks!

2dear, I just confirmed that the test-texts I sent today included you and that the number I sent yours to is the one Cheryl listed in the email. Assuming you're one of the people CC'd on the thread, please recheck the number listed for you and let me know if it's not correct. Assuming it is, our cell carriers may have a GSM/CDMA data incompatibility, so we may have to talk the old fashoined way on Saturday and see posted zoo-photos later. I'll still try sharing pics & vids with everyone on Saturday anyway and hope for the best.

Thank you for the B-day wish! A Happy Birthday to Mitch, Tina, Sparkle, and Spud too!

FE just sent me the dates, and Oct 2008 is already booked- isn't that crazy???? So it looks like it will be the end of June or beginning of July. I did ask to be put on their waiting list for any early cancellations though. I'm originally from Vegas, so I can deal with the heat if I have too. Now dealing with tonight's episode is a whole other story!

For anyone interested I just posted about our Los Angeles Zoo visit on the ECMS thread. Great to meet you WCM, Jens, and Kate!

hi everyone! i finally got to see my first meerkats today. my heart just about exploded. i especially enjoyed talking to all of you today. 2dear_2me, i got your messages and i intend to call you. i'm having problems getting pics on my phone. going to call us cellular and get it straightened out. thank you everyone for making me a part of this wonderful day of remembrance for our flower. peoria zoo is another matter. beautiful kats, not a good set-up. no cooperation from staff. so we'll have to see about that won't we? seems they have a problem with putting sand in the exhibit. i even offered to buy sand and use my truck to haul it in and they said no. there were no burrows and no digging. got lots of video and some stills. will send them out to WCM for his viewing and distribution. also, if you would like footage, contact WCM and give him your e-mail address.again, thank you all for making this a beautiful day of remembrance for flower.

It was a great day huh Korkie...I enjoyed talking with you...and yes, we'll have to see about this "no sand" business!!! If they can dump salt all over the streets when it snows, I don't see what harm a little sand would do in their burrow! (I'm from Buffalo, NY...I know about salted roads)...stay cool, and let me know if I can help in anyway!

thanks hildy. westcoastmeerkat and i are trying to figure out how to deal with this matter. we don't need to raise funds because i'll pay for what they need. we just need to convince the zoo that the meerkats need sand.

The LA Zoo portion of the 9/29 MultiZoo Meerkat Meetup was truly amazing on so many levels. After last night’s episode, this is what I needed, and I wish you all could’ve been there to experience it. For most of us, we come to this forum to talk, laugh, cry, and generally share our thoughts about meerkats because we know that this forum is a place where people understand us in a way that others in our daily lives just can’t relate. Today however, I experienced what it’s like when people in real life (Hildy60 & JensMeerkats) share our thoughts regarding Flower’s last episode while standing in front of live meerkats to see & speak to. Then, I called forum members visiting their own zoos, and live voices on the other end answered back and spoke about the meerkats they were seeing.

Just the very thought that the people I’m with and people I call are all with meerkats, understanding & sharing in thoughts of last night’s sad episode, and all are simultaneously experiencing something so similar in real life (as opposed to being limited to forum posts), if even just for a day, was a surreal experience that was incredibly therapeutic after last night’s tragedy. I know how I was left feeling after last night. Thus, I suspect many of you are still dealing with it, so I wish so much you all could’ve had this experience. It completely got me through. Without it, there would still be pain.

Our day at LA Zoo: My DF & I arrived at the LA Zoo’s meerkat enclosure at 11:05 am and met Hidy60 & JensMeerkats, who had just met up a few minutes earlier. We got acquainted and I got my first glimpse of LA’s meerkats, Spanky & Chico. Both are adult, but one appears slightly smaller than the other. Jen was our dedicated photographer, having brought both a camera & camcorder. She got lots of good shots, which she said she would try to edit & post tomorrow.

I found LA’s meerkat enclosure to be adequate for Spanky & Chico. It was of decent size (for 2 kats) with tunnels & dirt for digging, in addition to tall rocks & shrubs. The one part of their enclosure that was different from any other… and very LA… was their “tanning bed”. It consisted of a large dish under a heat lamp that they could individually lounge at. And did they lay in their tanning bed like on their bellies? Noooooo. They’ve obviously gone LA, as each kat lounged in it on their back, as though they were taking sunbaths. All they were missing were their shades. This made for a great photo that Jen will post tomorrow. We also walked around the rest of the zoo together. Yes, zoos actually have other animals besides meerkats.

I also called & sent meerkat photos to everyone who submitted their cell numbers for the MultiZoo Meetup. Gene told me he was in traffic. I hope he got to S.I. in time. I couldn’t get through to QueenFlower or 2dear2me, so I left voicemail. Cheryl said she had a blast, or at least I think she did; that was the call where my cell was struggling to hang on to a signal, so I could only hear about every other word. I was overjoyed to speak with Yllohc & KorkieMama because they were lone ECMS reps at their zoos in Texas & Illinois, but their attitudes were so positive & motivational that you wouldn’t know it by talking to them.

Yllohc said she had a run-in with a guy feeding potato chips to the meerkats, and she went off on him. Go Yllohc!!! It was also a treat to her KorkieMama speak about how today was her first day seeing meerkats in real life, and how it’s so amazing to finally see them. I think Jen said the same thing. That reminded me how similar I felt a year ago to first see them for myself. Sadly, KorkieMama found that her meerkats had no sand or tunnels. I think the Peoria Zoo will soon be hearing from us meerkat enthusiasts about that. She also has a large wreath dedicated to Flower that she brought to her zoo. Now that the day is over, Korkie is asking for suggestions of what to do with Flower’s wreath. Send it to ECMS? Fellow Earthlings? KMP? Flower’s gravesite? Something else?

I’m writing this post before viewing anyone else’s meetup posts, so that my raw impressions are captured here. I hope everyone else who participated in the 9/29 MultiZoo Meerkat Meetup had a similar experience of joy to make up for last night’s sorrow. Hopefully 2dear, who went the way of Shakespeare, will turn up soon.

Thank you Hildy & Jen for making this day so fun & fulfilling, and thanks to all who saw meerkats today (wasn’t it the best?). Also, shout-outs to everyone who helped name the Staten Island zookats, and by now, they’ve heard people call out their new names to them. Special thanks to QueenFlower, Gene, Cheryl and all the ECMS who helped raise money to get sand and a new enclosure for those special kats. Thank you Animal Planet for introducing us to the Whiskers family.

Most of all… Thank you Flower, for letting us get to know you, and thus, getting to know each other because we all got close through you. If AP hadn’t shared your story with us, we wouldn’t have thought to come to this forum and get to know each other. You showed us how to be a good mother, manager, and most of all… you, a meerkat, showed us humans, how to be good earthlings.

Thanks for that great recap WCM! I hope many of the First Annual (hopefully) Meerkat Meetup will also post their experiences and links to pictures! That will help those of us who couldn't make it live vicariously.

2dear - sorry I went off the grid for the last few days and didnt make it out to SF. Hopefully you did and will report back!

Oh, wcm, what a lovely post...you were so kind, and the fact that you knew immediately that I was Hildy...60...instead of sleek, blond,young Jens...you are great! So I feel comfortable in saying Hey Baby Boys, and Girls...we need to send letters...yes actual post...to the Peoria Zoo, and ask what their problem is with sand for the meerkats...can you imagine their surprise when they get all these letters (how do all these people know we don't provide sand)...and we say Korkiemama! West Coast...an additional thought...you are very sweet, making sure I saw what I wanted...and I think you and your DF are great together! I really enjoyed meeting the both of you. See you on the 14th!

Korkiemama, your son can help you either post your photos to Flickr (see my recent Flickr post on the ECMS thread) or you can email them to me, and I can post them to a similar photo-sharing site. There we can post the site's link here to share your pics with everyone.

As for Peoria Zoo, unlike the Staten Island situation, there's no financial or logistical hurdles since you have a truck ready to deliver free sand. Please contact their curator who has been helpful to you over the last week, and see if she will be understanding. If not, we'll consider the best solution, including a letter-writing campaign so there zoo will see that addresses everywhere want them to give their meerkats the (free) sand they need.

Killilea, the rest of the 9/29 meerkat meetup experiences are posted on the ECMS thread. BTW, this actually wasn't the first annual meetup. The first ECMS meetup occurred last December at one zoo (was it the Nat'l Zoo in DC?). The first Simultaneous MultiZoo Meetup was last April 29th. There were only participants from a few zoos. No one other than me showed up for the the West Coast part of it at the San Diego Zoo. This was a way better turn out earlier today.

The next Meerkat Meetup will be held on Sunday, October 14th at The Living Desert in Palm Desert, Ca., attended by Hildy60 and yours truly.

I am sorry, I was in the bank when I received your telephone call and I couldn't hear you (I got a lot of static). I tried to call you back as well as text you back several times but without response; the phone number you called me on kept on a busy signal.

I am not driving at the moment and I have to take EastBay Paratransit to get around and unfortunately even though I booked this ride 5 days in advance, they couldn't accommodate me in the end. They put the trips on stand by and then totally messed up the times of arrival and departure (they couldn't give me the times that I had requested). So regrettably, I didn't get to the SF zoo and I did try to text message at 6 AM to let you all know.

I apologize for any disappointment that this may have caused to anyone. I hope for better success during the next meet up.

Respectfully
2dear_2me

That's ok, 2dear. I'm just sorry they weren't able to help you get there. You were of course looking very forward to the trip. I'm not sure why the busy signal, although our zoo had some cell drop-out areas, but I'm not sure why your texts didn't come through. No worries though.

Thanks wcm... loved reading about your meet-up and now looking forward to photos. You are correct...the first meet-up was at the National Zoo in Wash. DC. I was lucky enough to be there and see a tiny live meerkat for the first time. Amazing experience, each time I visit.

What a wonderful meet up and description,thank you for sharing your wonderful day!

Thanks to all who met up across the country to share in this special day!!! It was great meeting Hildy, WCM, and Kate- not to mention, our fellow mob members over the telephone too!
I did not even notice Hildy had a Meerkat shirt on, but I did figure out who she was luckily. I'm very upset of the dirt situation, and ready to write my letter if needed. Our Zoo had burrows, sand, rocks, and grass.

I had such a great time at the LA Zoo, as it was my 1st visit. We were so close to the Meerkats, it was amazing! I was overly excited as this was my 1st encounter with them in person. I did not want to leave. In addition, I bought a Meerkat keychain, a magnet, and a 12" stuffed animal (Meerkat, of course).

Our Meerkats had great personalities and were very photogenic for me. I have some wonderful pictures and video as well. WCM- I just emailed the pics to you. If you are unable to work with them in that format, I can resend them to you in another method. I just started working on the video footage, so that will take a little longer. I'm excited to put it together to look nice for everyone. Also, I will put together another video with all the animals at the LA Zoo for anyone who is interested. I'll finish the Meerkat one first though.

As WCM stated, our Meerkats had an LA sunbath. It was very adoreable. The Sentry had dark black patches on his cheeks, and around his eye. He was a great lookout! The other Meerkat did the sunbathing, cleaning out the burrow, foraging in the grass, and even came very close to us to look at someone's admission ticket that had fallen into their exhibit. Only once did I see them both get on the lookout point together and enjoying the sunset. Another cute thing they did, was to hide away in some type of drain pipe. It seemed that when the noise (especially from little kids) was too much, they would retreat to the pipe. When it was quiet, then they would come back out. I was able to catch all of this on video, and I'm happy to share it with everyone.

Thanks again to everyone who could make it, and for those who couldn't, hopefully you can next time. As for Flower, we will truly miss you forever, our Iron Lady.

WCM- will you take care of letting the Midwest & East Coast members know, once the pics & video are ready?

Jens, I emailed you a concern. Upon your reply, I'll be able to post the LA pics.

To all,
Here are the photos of yesterday's meetup at the LA Zoo. My favorites are this one & this one, which show a meerkat lounging in his personal sauna. The whole slideshow can be seen here. Soon, we'll post a video.

wcm and jens wonderful show of our visit...of course I still buy cameras...great job..the pics certainly captured our visit!!!!

great WCM! kinda looks lile a pregnant zaphod to me. heehee

That's the problem I have with the Photobucket photo-sharing site. It modifies the aspect ratio, to squeeze the image to fit its shape. It makes the kats look fatter than they really are. Also, the website reduces resolution for video files.

I now recommend www.flickr.com for posting photos. I didn't know about Flickr before I signed up for a Photobucket account.

Hildy & WCM- my computer died on me today. I lost the entire video, which I had completed last night. I am now starting over from scratch, again.

Hey, cutie pie...better ask wcm, I'm pretty much illerate when it comes to techno stuff...loved the pics you took though

Thank you so much for sharing the pictures with us. Even though I looked at them, they are still not enough!!!!! I wish I could just reach into the picture and hold one. I can't put into words how much the little creatures touch me. That's all I think about. I need to stop myself sometimes.

Calling all Californians:
Please note that we have Meerkat Meetups coming up at zoos in Palm Desert and San Francisco.

1. This Sunday, Oct 14th, Hildy & I will be meeting up at The Living Desert in Palm Desert, and everyone who can attend is invited. I look forward to lunch at their "Meerkat Cafe".

2. Sunday, December 2nd, I'll be visiting the San Francisco Zoo, and would like to meetup with any forum members who'd like to join up. Remember that the SF Zoo lets the public feed meerkats on Sundays at 2pm, so this should be a treat (pun intended ). Killilea & 2Dear are forum members in SF. Will you be able to join?

If you're interested, let me know, so we can work out the times. Hildy, please email the addy on the card I gave you. See you all soon!

WCM, I love the pix of the kat lounging under the heat lamp. I'm going to work on getting my Riverbanks Zoo kats a heat lamp for outdoors.

To: West_Coast_Meerkat:

Yes, I shall make a point to be able to be there on Dec 2 and arrange my trip a week in advance. Please send me a reminder of the same around that time.
Looking forward to seeing you.

That's great, 2dear! I had thought I'd by able to get up to SF again in November, but it didn't work out. Dec 2 isn't too long though. We'll keep the meetup time pretty flexible since I know your transportation is limited. I look forward to meeting you and hopefully Killea & others as well.

MK1212, is it so cold in Riverbanks? The webcam allowed me to grow to really like your kats. They have so much space, sand and shrubbery. You must be proud.

Mlaaiuppa, I haven't forgotten about the San Diego Zoo. I'd like to finally meet you as well. How does early November look for you?

Bump.

This is likely the last reminder about this Sunday's SoCal Meerkat Meetup at The Living Desert in Palm Desert, Ca., as I'll be leaving the city in a few hours, and am not yet sure if I'll have Internet access this weekend. We'll meet at The Living Desert's meerkat enclosure around 11 am and I'll be wearing a meerkat-based celtic design on a brown t-shirt. This is the closest zoo to Fellow Earthlings. I hope that those visiting F.E. this weekend will be able to join up for this as well. For more info on The Living Desert's hours, prices, directions, etc., please visit www.livingdesert.org

November 3,4 and 10,11 are good. Other two weekends are not.

Hey west_coast_meerkat, in a previous post you mentioned $380 for almost 8hrs with Pam's kats. Is that the Fellow Earthlings meerkats? Is that the cost for the all day encounter with the meerkats?

DEAR BASIL, I HAVE VISITED PAM AT FELLOW EARTHLINGS TWICE, ONCE FOR THE 100 VISIT, AND THEN I SENT IN 300 FOR AN ALL DAY VISIT...IT IS A MARVELOUS EXPERINCE!!! IF YOU CAN AFFORD IT, THE ALL DAY VISIT, YOU GET TO FEED HER MEERKAT 2 OR 3 TIMES...BUT YOU ALSO GET TO HEAR HER REMARKABLE VISITS TO THE STUDY IN AFRICA!!! YOU SIT RIGHT IN THE DIRT WITH HER MOB, AND FEED THEM MEALWORMS, AND THEY WILL LET YOU HOLD THEM, IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH WORMS...SO MUCH JOY...HOWEVER, YOU CANNOT BE A LOUD SPEAKER...AS THAT SCARES THEM...YOU MUST SPEAK QUIETLY AT ALL TIMES!!!HOPE YOU CAN GO!!!