Poor baby Hulu...hope he is found and reunited with Kapa. Haven't I read that the Honolulu Zoo will only have male meerkats so, should they get loose, and mobs be established, the flora etc won't suffer? I just hope he gets home safely. He must be so frightened.
I really fear that Hulu may have been katnapped, and that the zoo is just downplaying that idea because I remember back to the news article of the baby penguin that was stolen from a zoo back when March Of The Penguins was in theatres. Similarly, meerkats have never been as popular as they are this week.
Shocat, many zoo meerkats originate from the San Diego Zoo. This includes meerkats at Staten Island, Fellow Earthlings, The Living Desert, and many other zoos. This is probably the reason why just about every meerkat in American zoos is of the "Hahni" sub-species. SD Zoo has a bizillion meerkats. Yes, I counted, and it came to a bizillion.
They can't burrow or climb out. They dug up the burrows and he wasn't there. So what other alternative is there to someone taking the poor guy? I hope there is an alternative I haven't thought of. I hope they find him soon and he is alright. Poor little guys.
Poor guy, I hope he gets home soon. And his friend looked so lonely. On another thread, a poster and I were joking about carrying a meerkat home from a park, I feel bad now. We had no idea about this, though.
Thanks to the zoo's search-page, I learned that Hulu & Kapa are littermates, born July 18, 1996. They had turned 11. They're old meerkats; They don't need the stress they're going through. Here's a video if you want to see them.
Oh my gosh. That is so sad. I'm actually crying right now thinking about the poor missing meerkats. What are they doing to find them???? If they are missing, they must be so scared and alone. God forbid that they passed away, I know we all morn for them, our precious little meerkats.
Thank you wcm for letting us know. As you said, light a candle, maybe they will be found.
I just watched the video.I feel bad for his littermate of 11 years.If someone meerkat-napped this older little fella' they should be locked up!! Poor little dude.
There's a new article today on the missing Honolulu Zoo kats that you can read here. It basically says Hulu hasen't been found yet, but it also raises my concerns about the competancy of their zoo director. At first, I thought he might have just been downplaying the possibility of the kat being stolen because he didn't want to alarm people, but I'm now concerned that he really doesn't understand meerkats because the article not only describes the very few other possibilities that could've occured, but zoo director, Ken Redman, actually states "They prefer to have company but they can live by themselves"... What the??? And they put this person in charge of a zoo?
I'm new to the Chat, however, I am really upset about the little guy gone missing in Hawaii. I moved to Illinois from Houston, and saw the Houston Zoo gang on several occasions. Is it just me, or does poor little Kapa look a little overweight? Houston gang didn't look that fat (nor does KMP). Is that normal?
Did the 2 brothers live over 11 years toghether without female, mob, kids whatsoever? omg that's sad! they need females to mate and make a group! how can you keep 2 males 11 years long and not want babys =S how stupid and lame!
They better give kapa some females now he's all alone for 3 weeks now..
Well it's no happy ending, but I did manage to find this new editorial article on Hulu, which is a humorous satire on his story. On one hand, it's a little early for satire on a currently dismal situation, but on the other, this thread could use some light-hearted laughter.
hello west_coast_meerkat, sorry I didn't see this thread when I posted the article about Hulu's disappearance in the "visit to dallas zoo" thread. I live in Honolulu & was excited to hear your plans to acquire another meerkat for the local zoo. That's such a kind & generous gesture & I'd be happy to help by visiting the zoo & doing some research for you. Just let me know what I need to do (specific questions I should ask the zoo or info I should find out etc.).
I really am worried about Hulu because this area is totally unfamiliar to him & is heavily populated. The zoo is located in Waikiki-a very popular tourist spot. So, it's always crowded & the traffic there is pretty heavy. That fact alone leaves me fearful for his life. On the other hand, if someone stole him...that was not a smart move. A true meerkat lover would know that they're social mammals that belong with their family. Sorry, just had to say that! Please let me know what you need. Thanks & aloha!
I'm still so sad for Kapa as he looks so lost in video footage. Every time I think of Hulu, I picture poor little Kapa still sitting upright in the zoo with his head tucked under him in the sand. Poor precious boys! I keep hoping for a happier update.
MozartForever, I so very much thank you for making yourself known here as a Honolulu local, and being willing to visit your a few times to assist in an attempt to help Kapa get a friend. For now, It's prudent to keep the details on the down-low, as the logistics are numerous, and my opportunity to speak with those who allocate meerkats to other zoos won't even present itself for a month & a half. By then, you'll be up to date. Thank you again for helping make this possible.
WCM, I want to thank you! I realize that this will be a big endeavor on your part, investing much of your time & energy and I really do appreciate that. I'm sure lonely Kapa will be most appreciative to have companionship again. Poor old guy must be traumatized by his brother's absence. I look forward to further details & will keep my fingers crossed (& mouth closed!). much aloha-mozartforever
southernmeerkatmd...unfortunately, I haven't heard any news about Hulu the missing meerkat. I still hope he will be found soon & reunited with Kapa. I'm relying on the innate resourcefulness of meerkats to pull him through this. There are plenty of insects & geckos around here so hopefully he's not hungry. I've only seen a scorpion here once in my life (once was plenty!) so that may be harder to find. Thanks for your concern & will let you all know if I hear anything new. =)
Poor Hulu...I sure hope that he finds his way home to his brother soon. I know he must miss his brother very much.
Just an FYI, I called the Santa Barbara zoo on saturday with the intentions of visiting them, I was told that they only have one (1) meerkat now. Is there anything that you can do to alleviate this terrible situation??? Let me know what you can do and if I can help in any way...okay? Peace Love & Meerkats Christine
Yes, it's my undersatnding that there are about 9 zoos in the USA that have only one meerkat. I'd like to make it a focus for 2008 to try to fix that if possible. Honolulu will need at least 2 kats because Kapa is 11 years old, and it wouldn't be fair to his upcoming companion if he eventually passed away, leaving a new kat in solitude. My goal is to help Kapa get 2 male pups, as this would be the most likely mode of integration for a species known to kill their rivals. It worked well in San Diego for Tripod and her 2 adopted pups. I'm also hoping to avoid the Vicks VapoRub technique of no-scent-integration if at all possible. I have to assume they hate that stuff.
Thanks for the heads up. Its worse than I'd imagined. Does San Diego zoo have a breeding program? Do they need donations? Is there anything we can do to encourage them?
I can only imagine that the vics method must be awful, it's pretty terrible when I have to use that junk just to breath again...it must be overwhelming for them.
Well, let me/us know of any progress you're making and if there's anything you need in the way of help!
Christine, yes, several zoos have received their kats from the SD Zoo. I'm hoping to learn more details soon, and hopefully talk with someone in-the-know on our Dec 8th meetup there.
Tori, owning meerkats as pets is illegal in most of the world, including the USA. However, I have 17 of them. I keep them at the San Diego Zoo, and visit them a few times a year. As a zoo-member, I can say that, right?
LOL WCM. You can certainly say that. I have hundreds that I visit every Friday night and most of the time on Mondays. I was just wondering about someone wanting to take one home when I read this thread. You know how many nuts there are in this world.
LOL WCM. You certainly can say that. I hope they find him, if you find out please let me know. Thanks for the link. I went in and read some of the articles. They were interesting. I guess my MKs are the ones I watch on MM every Friday. They are too hard to keep up with.
I also meant to say I figured it was illegal. I was just worried about someone taking them out of their enviroment. I hope all the Zoo's have at least two MKs. They are like us and need friends and family.
Topic Closed
