As shown tonight on ABC Nightline, the MM Forum has managed to spawn a meerkat fan community that is gaining notoriety. With it comes new meerkat fans and forum members who may want to learn more about how in late 2006, our very own forum threads became the meeting place for a group of dedicated meerkat fans on the east coast who decided to converge together at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC on December 2, 2006. This convergence was part of the birth of the East Coast Meerkat Society, and also began the concept of the ECMS Meerkat Meetup. Since then, people from around the nation (& beyond) joined this society, and thus, the ECMS was open to every meerkat fan from anywhere. The Meerkat Meetups continued at zoos across the nation.
This thread contains the historical archive of…
The Story (& Timeline) of the ECMS’ Meerkat Meetups:
9-29-07 Second ECMS MultiZoo Meerkat Meetup (Staten Island Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, Peoria Zoo, Fort Worth Zoo, St. Louis Zoo, and Capron Park Zoo) – This meetup was coordinated with both the same weekend as the broadcasted Meerkat Manor episode where Flower died, as well as the Staten Island Meerkat Enclosure Upgrade Dedication
I urge you all to read the tales told within the review links. This is our documented chronology of ECMS history, posted & archived online. There’s a great story here that will assist new meerkat fans with understanding the full extent of the interactive spirit within our online community of fellow meerkat-loving friends.
Thanks wcm for posting this awesome ECMS, embracing the WCMS, Tutorial.
The National Zoo, Washington DC meet-up is almost here. I am so excited as I will be meeting 'n' greeting. Hope that everyone who RSVP'd will be able to attend, this Saturday June 14.
It is also a big event day at the zoo, Cockadoodle Zoo, for those of us who wish to see the animals as they wake up and are fed. This will be from 7:30 - 10:00 a.m. To get on the grounds at this time you must be a FONZ and registered for the festivities. This can be done online. The general public will be admitted at 10:00am.
The target time for we meerkat lovers will be the meerkat feedings at 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. at the Small Mammal House which is close to parking lot B. Warning: Fills up quickly!
Cold mealworms will be flying; cameras flashing, videocams rolling...eyes wide as saucers, ours as well as the children who will be whispering "There's Flower"!
I will literally wake up at the zoo as I will have to begin my trip to the zoo before the rooster crows! I hope to be there at 7:30 a.m. on Lemur Island to watch those fantastic ring tailed beauties being fed.
From there I will go to the meerkat burrows.
You will know me with no trouble...I will be the woman wearing a blue backpack with my entire plush meerkat mob cuddled in their new burrow. At the Small Mammal House I will either be inside or hanging with the Anteater statue in the front.
I invite everyone with a love of all things meerkat to join with me & all who are planning to attend, in this celebration of these marvelous little ones...our beautiful meerkats.
This is cool WCM! Thanks for putting it all together! It will take a few visits to the library burrow to get through it all but it's worth it!! I guess once our little guys get their permit, you can add Pt Defiance Zoo to the list.
OMG so much has happened since I first posted about our meet-up on Saturday June 14. Many contact calls later I have been reminded to let those, who will be arriving after 10:00am, know that I will remain at the the Small Mammal House until 11:00 am. Hopefully this will allow those who like to sleep late or who are not FONZ members to enjoy the meerkats as a part of our mob. Hope to see you there!
Now for the most awesome news of all. Gene Gaines the ECMS DM will be joining us at the meet-up.
He has notified the National Zoo that our ECMS group will be meeting at the Zoo on Saturday. Bob King, the Curator of the Small Mammal House phoned him back; a new keeper, Kenton, who is very interested in the meerkats, will meet us for both of the feedings at the meerkat enclosure and to talk to us about our meerkats.
This should be a meerkat meetup to remember, but then, aren't they all?
What an absolutely magical moment at the National Zoo in Washington DC today. As planned I was there very early although I did have some difficulty convincing my mob to get up before the sun. Once in their new burrow, my backpack, they cuddled & nuzzled, soon snoring contentedly.
I honestly believe everybody on the beltway was going to the Zoo. We just all drove together. Even I resisted my usual ticket inviting driving. Zoom, Zoom as my nephew says.
I first went to Lemur Island to watch their feeding. Here the huge crowd was disappointed as they did not feed the Lemurs outside. The keeper at the site said this was because if they did so, they would not return to their enclosure. But it was exciting to see these extraordinary beautiful creatures flying around in the tree canopies. I kept hoping to see Electra, Amazon, the Furies and Graveyard gangs. I know Pegleg & Nimbus were in there somewhere. Oh how the imagination runs wild!
From there the mob & I headed to the Small Mammal House and our meerkats. When inside I began to carry Flower, leaving Blossom, Bubble, Squiggy and Uncle Youssy in the burrow. As this was one of DC's famous hot and humid days I went inside and sat down at a window to watch for our kats to arrive. Boy were we a hit! Everyone coming in stopped to talk to Flower and me. How proud I was to hear the children talk about the meerkats.
Then a delightful gentleman was kissing my cheek.....Gene Gaines our DM had arrived. We had much to catch up on. Time passed quickly and our meerkat friends began to arrive. There was Kim, wearing her EarthWatch tee as she is going to the Kalahari one month from this coming Friday(think she is excited!!), Carol, Michelle, Stephanie and Later Peggy with her Mom and Dad who had driven up from Richmond. We were also joined by another woman drawn to Gene's discussion of the meerkats and the ECMS. We now have a new member.
Our meerkats never cease to amaze me. No matter how many times I see them, I marvel at how tiny they are; such beautiful faces. Our DC meers are very fit...Kalahari trim and slim. The Dominant female is a beautiful meerkat. She is very large, taller and heavier, but from our reading this is what makes a DF. Her little tummy was swelling. I couldn't help but wonder if she were pregnant and thought I will ask Kenton. She sat as sentry and was continually vocalizing, but could not be heard. This is something the Zoo should consider; allowing us to hear them.
As we chatted, becoming acquainted, we were joined by our keeper Kenton. I did a double take...Sean Astin OMG!!! It was close to 8:30 am, the first meerkat feeding time. He said Cat lets go. I turned my mob over to others and Kenton escorted me into the area behind the meerkat enclosure.
Me, ccatz, I was going to do the 8:30 feeding! And there was a huge crowd out there. My hands were shaking! My knees too I think. As soon as we stepped inside I was instructed to step into a pan of disinfectant to clean my shoes. Next I was asked to put on gloves and a mask, nothing must infect our meerkats. Then Kenton opened the door. My heart was racing. While we stood there he explained that this the day's first opportunity to observe the meerkats, count them, check out their demeanors; if any might appear sick.
All I could see were six beautiful eager hungry faces staring up at me, chattering away. I could hear these sweet ones. Everything else was a blur except for Kenton. He handed me a container of wiggly mealworms and told me to distribute them right in front of the meerkats. This would allow him to watch how they were moving, reacting and if all wanted to eat. No problem there. Then he asked me to throw them all over the enclosure, to the front and on the rocks, again to see how they moved, climbed and reacted to the food in the sand, digging etc.. I knew cameras were flashing, but I saw only our little meerkats.
Too soon it was over and I was leaving, reversing the steps I had originally taken. Then I was back with Gene and everybody, still not quite believing I had just fed the meerkats. Why must such magic end so quickly? I had asked Kenton about becoming a keeper. He said volunteer. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm!
In fact I was just the appetizer. At the 9:30 feeding, again a very large crowd, Kenton threw out their main meals enclosed in enrichment balls. These were very large stuffed with straw, crickets and the largest ,juiciest earthworms I have ever seen, talk about a feeding frenzy. They would grab one and go off by themselves; sharing their find with another meerkat was not an option.
It was impossible to leave, but we had another enclosure to visit. There are two evicted females, one with a pup. It is so sad to see them. If possible they are even tinier, a little more adversely reactive to viewers. Wish they could find another home with their own mob. Couldn't help but think of the solitary Chico in the LA Zoo. Transferring and introducing new meerkats is a delicate and dangerous situation and would have to be undertaken with great thought and care, but with the right people directing it who knows what might be possible.
It was an amazing morning, so much information from Gene and Kenton. Gene was gracious enough to bring us all ECMS gifts. Many pictures were taken. Too soon we had to go. Can't wait for the next time we gather together to celebrate all things meerkat.
OMG what a day you had!! Sounds like a really wonderful adventure!!
Im glad you got to hear them.. feed them, how exciting - I bet you're still on cloud nine!
As for the evicted young ladies (and the lonesome Chico) maybe this is a possiblity. Delicate yes, impossible? I'd say nothings entirely impossible unless it goes untried.
Thanks for posting about your meet, sure beat my morning by a longshot - (I've been chasing dmoo around the website with meerkat speed it seems, it's been fun but - by comparison )
Wow ccatz! What a magical day indeed. I am so happy that you got to feed the fuzzies and that people took pictures of this wonderful event. We will have to get a shot of you feeding the meerkats for the ECMS homepage. Please post pics when you have time.
Tomorrow Jersey Kat and I are going to visit our Staten Island fuzzies (the Two Amigos). If anyone lives in the tristate area (or feels like making the journey to Staten Island) we will be there until about 4 pm tomorrow.
Ccatz thank you so much for posting all the details of your vistit and the pictures. You got to feed the meerkats, that is magical! I love all the pic, thanks!
Originally posted by sunshine-1: Thanks so much for the pix!! Is the brown one the DF? What a cutie pie! But they all are
The one who seems to glow yes, Kim's pix are awesome. Also Kenton was asked if she were pregnant. The females are in shall I say a Family Planning Program. That they are happy with the mix and how they interact. Should they want to breed they will remove the "implants".
I mentioned this on another thread, but I also wanted to be sure to post this on the ECMS Meetup History thread as well for archival purposes...
7/27/08 LA Zoo Meetup (&fire)
It was nice to meet Meergato earlier today at the LA Zoo meetup, and see Hildy, Janelle and Chris again... And of course, CHICO!!! I generally give detailed meetup reports, but I decided to put the day's experiences in to a video instead. Click the "high quality" link below the video; then expand to full screen.
Wow! Jess, I actually thought that your only other job would be as a professonal water skier, as seen in the 1st picture of your trip, but you really are quite good at filming. Getting all of Chico's expressions and then the fire to the L.A.Zoo sign back to the fire and the people. And then us singing was comical to say the least....Great job Jess....
