Cheryl, I will not be joining all of you at the National Zoo April 29, family duties must prevail, but will be there in May if that happens.
Since I get homesick for our zoo babies I went searching and found 2 videos on youTube. They are at the same URL. In the first one the glass still has the black border. The second one, which is listed on the sidebar, the black border has been removed.
The second one made me feel sad, because the mother & father meerkats wrap their bodies around the baby just like Mozart, Tosca & Shakes did when they thought the owl was gong to attack the babies. I think Mom & Dad are*protecting* the little one from the the noisy zoo goers.
Time to decide on a time for the East Coast Meerkat Society meet up at the National Zoo this coming Sunday. I think that we can go about this two different ways.
We can go early in the morning, when the Small Mammal House opens at 8:00 and it is fairly easy to find a parking space at the Zoo. And it is very quiet in the Small Mammal House and you can really hear the merkats. We can meet at our usual statue of the anteater in front of the building.
The second option would be to go later in the day knowing that the West Coast branch of the Society will be meeting up at the San Diego Zoo at 1:00. There are pros and cons to both times but keep in mind that the National Zoo closes at 4:00 local time, meaning that we would have to be out of the Zoo just when our West Coast members are meeting up because of the time difference. But it would still be kind of cool knowing that both chapters were gazing at meerkats at roughly the same time.
I do know that some of the East Coast members need to travel a little so I will leave it up to you mob members on the East Coast to decide-early morning or later in the day. The DM and I can do either time. We will make a final decision by Thursday, April 26th.
Flower Memorial Suncatcher.. I just saw a photo of the finished model and I was brought to tears! (Of joy!) It so captures Flower's personality!Those will be sold through meerkatsrule.org at cost. Check back later in the week at that site for details. Once again, I ask for everyone's patience. The DM has chemo on Wednesday but will get the order process up on the ECMS homepage as soon as he can.We want to share this exquisite work of art with as many people as possible and those of you that already have a suncatcher by Herbee in their burrow knows what a great job she does. MEERKATS RULE!!!
Cheryl, I can go either time but prefer AM because we have more time with the Meekats and there is parking if you want to drive. I hope your DM will be ok I thought it was his back I did not know he was getting chemo. You both are in my thoughts. Think happy thoughts...
We are still waiting for more input as to a meeting time for our visit to the National Zoo. It looks like a leaning towards morning but we will decide on Thursday based on what folks have told me.
I love all animals and I would like to see the special on Barbaro that is airing on Sunday afternoon. However, I can always tape it if the majority want to go later in the day. MEERKATS RULE!!!
Howdy, East-Coasters! Best wishes for your branch of the meetup this Sunday. For the West Coast branch, I decided on 1 pm in case any participants were busy with church on Sunday mornings, or in my case, out late on Saturday night. Of course anyone can show up earlier for a full day at the zoo and then just meet up at 1 pm. On future simultaneous East-West meetups, it would be cool to coordinate times, so the West Coast meetup would start earlier to sync with you guys.
Also, I just ordered a new cell phone with picure & video messaging. If any East Coast meetup attendees also have picture & video messaging, we could send real-time photos & vids to each other during future simultaneous meetups. I won't yet have the phone in time for this Sunday though.
I'm a bit curious about the potential turn-out. No one has yet replied to the "San Diego Meerkat Meetup" thread saying they plan to attend. No worries though; as I said in the thread, the day is more about people just making this sunday a day to go to their local zoo to see meerkats.
Hi fellow Meerkat lovers, just back from the vacation burrow! I know this is late, but I left on the same day, so 1st: Happy Belated Birthday Gene!! Hope you enjoyed your cake & all the grooming from the gang! Also, I received my beautiful sun catcher while I was away ! Thanks Gene, for getting it out! 2nd, Welcome Herbee, as an artist myself I appreciate your unmatched talent. My sun catcher "Flower" is absolutely beautiful! I can't make the Nat Zoo meeting but will be at the June 3rd at the SI Zoo. Runs, good luck w/the burrow move!
ECMS will gather at the National Zoo this Sunday, April 29th at 8:30. We will meet at the Anteater statue outside of the Small Mammal House. If you are driving, the closest parking lot to the Small Mammal House is lot "B". Hope to see a big mob. MEERKATS RULE!!!
Hey while you all are at the National zoo maybe you can talk them into putting a web cam up for the meerkats. I won't mind missing the naked mole rats, they can use that webcam
I wish you all a good day with the National Zoo kats. Sunday is supposed to be a nice day. I'll be there in spirit.
Yeah try to get them to move either the naked mole rat webcam or the ferret. The ferret sleeps all day but the meerkats are up and running, so they'd be a better choice for a webcam.
Maybe the ferrets, believe it or not, the naked mole rats are very much like meerkats in their communal and co-operative living. They could do the meerkats during the day and the the ferrets at nite.
Anyway have a great day and visit. Bet our little one from Dec. is a feisty teenager by now!
Hi, all! Thanks for all the well-wishes on the burrow move. Things have gone surprisingly well and I'm once again part of our little cyber-burrow!
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at the zoo on Sunday morning! I'm also still planning to go up to Staten Island on June 3rd to see the Three Amigos. Hope to catch some of you there, too!
I've keep my lovely suncatcher in its protective envelop during the move. Tomorrow, I'm out for some fishing line (should be easy to find here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland!) so it can adorn a window in my new home!
Um, I have a question? Earlier in this topic you were talking about naming pups. What is this, naming pups in a zoo, or something? I'd like if you could post a link.
Greeting to all of our mob members! Just a note to say that the East Coast Meerkat Society met today at the National Zoo. It was a wonderful meeting and we got to meet runs262 and her DM. We had a small turn out, just four of us, but it was a spectacular day and we had a wonderful time!
We were met by the meerkat keeper who spoke to us at great length and gave us some good pointers about the Staten Island enclosure. The Mob at the Zoo now has eight adults and a pup that is 11 weeks old.The previously evicted female and her pup have been moved to their own exhibit area within the Small Mammal House. So mother and son are no longer part of the larger exhibit. It seems that no matter how hard they tried to get her accepted, the subordinate females really went after her. Interestingly enough it was NOT the dominant female that lead the charge. According to the keeper it tends to be the beta females that do the dirty work, so to speak. So what we all witnessed on Meerkat Manor, where Mozart drives off Daisy, is true even in this setting.
We visited the female and her now teenaged son at the other exhibit and we all agreed that her tail appeared shorter than the other females, so the move was probably the kindest thing to do. We also heard a different story from the keeper as to her health condition. The story that we heard today was that she has a heart problem, not a twisted ovary. She and her pup appear healthy and active and the keeper believes that the National Zoo might be glad to send them off to the Staten Island Zoo if both zoos get in contact with each other (at the curator level) and plan it out. So there is still hope for the Three Amigos.
The meerkats also now sport dye marks but they kind of rubbed them on to each other so they are actually bigger marks than intended.They are trying to get to know who's who and they want to be able to weigh and interact with them much like we see on Meerkat Manor.
We were there for morning worm treats and were back in time for the three o'clock distribution of worm goodies. The Zoo was extremely crowded as one might expect on such a beautiful day but the meerkats did not seem the least bit fazed by all of he attention.
One of the interesting things that we witnessed was a meerkat behavior that we had not previously seen, either in person or on Meerkat Manor. It seems that one of the beta males ran back and forth along the curved glass of the exhibit and then began springing up and down, up and down looking very much like he was on a trampoline. He bounced straight up over two feet or more. The keeper was concerned about this saying that the meerkat was doing his duty of guarding the perimeter of the group but he shouldn't be bouncing like that. Well, after a while we left to go and discuss the SI enclosure project. Gene and I returned to the Small Mammal House on the way to our car and, lo and behold, the keeper had rearraged the rock and logs in the exhibit so that the little guy couldn't run back and forth along the glass. He also banked the sand and wet it down so there was not too much dust. The "bouncing" meerkat was now calm and we never saw him bounce the entire hour that we were there. I was extremely impressed because this keeper saw a problem and acted on it within hours to the benefit of the meerkat. I believe that these folks who work with the animals on a daily basis really get to know them the best and I was happy to see that the keeper did not have to jump through administrative hoops to be able to make some changes to the burrow. And we think that the meerkats enjoyed exploring the new set up, which was really attained by simply rearranging some rock and logs! But all was happy and calm when we left.
We hope that the West Coast Meet Up went well and know that we were thinking about you when we were at the National Zoo. No matter where you go to see them, we all know that MEERKATS RULE!!!
Sounds like it was a good day, I wanted to go so bad but I twisted my ankle last night and could hardly walk on it this morning. The jumping meerkat sounds too funny. It's interesting the Zoo's talk t each other, you guys are doing a great job.
Since I couldn't be with you guys at the Nat. Zoo I ambled on over to the Philly Zoo to check in on Simon, Mae and Gracie in honor of the Society meetings in Washington and San Diego.
Indeed it was a lovely day. Spring has sprung, the trees were in bloom and the peacocks while beautiful on the eyes were hard on the ears.
Interesting what was said about the sub-Fs. I have never read or heard of them doing the actual eviction. They are of course jealous of any female who gets to have pups when they don't. More to learn everyday about our furry friends eh? I am guessing this is a zoo behavior most likely because of the close quarters.
Also, would it be wise to send a young female with a heart problem into an enclosure with 3 males who haven't been near a female in a very long time? I am sure the curators will make the right decision.
Krazy, I also sprained my ankle so I feel your pain literally.
I'm so glad we all had a great time! It's late and I still have to drive home from SD, so I plan to post photo links & my tale on my SD Meetup thread tomorrow (Monday) night.
Up until a few months ago I lived in DC and yes the meerkat enclosure is very small compared to what we see elsewhere.
Poor baby has a heart condition? I saw her and her pup last winter. If they are happy and content in their new quarters, they should leave them there. I wouldn't want her to go to Staten Island and die. They can find a healthy female for our guys.
About the evicted female at the National Zoo....Not sure exactly what her health issues are because the keeper has never seen the x-rays. It may just be another one of the stories that you hear when you talk to different people at the Zoo. We had originally heard that she had a twisted ovary; now we are hearing perhaps a heart problem. One thing is for sure, no one will move her to another Zoo if it is not in her best interest. I do feel that the keeper is extremely knowledgeable about meerkats and cares about their welfare so that is good news.
Pronker: glad to hear that Gracie and company are in good health. We will have to plan a meeting at the Philly Zoo at some point in the future.
We are anxious to hear how the West Coast meet up went. I like the idea of a nation-wide "Visit Your Local Meerkats Day".
The DM took over 200 pictures of the meerkats at the National Zoo and is currently sorting through them in order to post them on PicasaWeb.google.com/Gene.Gaines. Some might actually be up now. MEERKATS RULE!!!
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The pictures of the East Coast Meerkat Society meeting at the National Zoo are posted on Picasa. Gene posted 94 pictures of the meerkats and then, in a separate album, some other Zoo inhabitants. It is best to view the album as a slide show. There are also pictures for the Flower Memorial album. The poems and drawings are not there but this is a work in progress. Here is the web address for the pictures:
Really great pix....Do they put treats like worms in the ball. The Flower pictures are awesome. I think it would be nice to have one of Flower's suncatcher. It is going to be a fantastic memorial.
The DM will post a picture of the Flower Memorial Suncatcher on meerkatsrule.org today or tomorrow. Orders will be taken through that website.
The treatball in the picture was in another exhibit at the Zoo but runs262 tells us that is the type of thing Pam uses at Fellow Earthlings and that is what we want to have for the Staten Island Zoo meerkats. The meerkats at the National Zoo get worm treats twice a day but they are just scattered by the keeper's helper. But they do really enjoy them. MEERKATS RULE!!!
Yeah!!!!!!! The pictures are awesome. It helps relieve a bit of Meerkat withdrawal I am experiencing right now . Great job Gene & I hope you're feeling better!
eruth, don't forget the www. I couldn't get in last night, but I was spelling it "picasweb" instead of "picasaweb" (more like Picasso). The pictures are stupendous. How I envy you getting to see the baby. Mt girl kat hasn't been able to get pregnant. I went to see my kats this morning (in Columbia). They came out in a digging frenzy. They even dug up a small toad, but they let it go - I guess they weren't hungry.
The calendar photos. Who are those meerkats? They are so pretty!!! The picture of the man carrying the little one, how awesome is that!! I'm so envious!!
I know this has nothing to do with MM, but I just wanted to share. I forgot to relate that Sunday would have been Barbaro's 4th b-day. In Delaware Park there was a celebration of his life and money given to charities for horses of all kinds. God Bless you Barbaro!!!! I grew up on horseracing and noone since Go For Wand has touched me as greatly. I love you!!!!! RIP Hero!!
The Flower Memorial suncatcher is available to view on Meerkatsrule.org. I think that you will all be impressed.
The pictures for the calendar came mostly from members of the ECMS. However, the one taken in South Africa of the ambassador meerkat was photographed by a girl named Wendy.
The Barbaro Special will be on NBC at 8:00 Saturday night, about 90 minutes after the running of this year's Kentucky Derby. I have not missed watching the "Run for the Roses" since 1954. Always on TV, never in person. I've been to the Preakness twice and luckily missed it last year. I wouldn't have been able to survive the Barbaro breakdown!! I love all animals. I also remember that tragic day when Go For Wand broke down at the finish line at the Breeder's Cup. Terrible stuff; hard to watch and impossible to forget. MEERKATS RULE!!!
thanks for getting the Flower Memorial up so soon. glad the Barbaro special will be on again as I was gone Sunday. I still haven't gotten over Ruffian and that was 35 or 36 years ago. Barbaro brought it all back.
I lived in Germany when 'Wand broke down and their broadcasts were not censored like over here, and I heard the screams from the spectaters and the 'Wand's cries for days. Woke up sweating. Never watched another race until Cigar came along. Barbaro and then Flower so close together, it really hit me hard. Flower's death prompted me to get the courage to try to get on this site. My DM was really hurt by Flower's death, but he is a retired race caller so has learned that even tho your heart is breaking the show must go on.
Please tell me there will be another calendar for next year in the works!!! I did not see the Flower/Youssy pic. Did I miss it? I would like to see the counterpoint one of Flower/Zaphod.
I saw Go For Wand's breakdown, and Ruffian's too. Wanda's was especially awful. BTW, the Derby is going to begin 30 minutes earlier than usual and last 2 hrs. That is, if the hockey game NBC scheduled before is finished in time ...
The Flower memorial book is about three fourths completed. Some of the draft can be seen on meerkatsrule.org.and picasaweb.google.com/gene.gaines
The Flower Memorial Suncatcher can also be viewed at meerkatsrule.org.
We are also planning a second calendar and are counting on pictures from the trip to Africa as well as photos from local zoos that are taken by members in this mob.
The book launch of the children's book "Meet the Meerkat" in conjunction with the SI Zoo will take place in June. As a founding member of ECMS I was delighted to receive an advance copy of the book which was also seen by runs262 and her DM when the Society met at the National Zoo on April 29th. I have since taken the book to school and read it to my first grade group of students, many of which already are fans of Meerkat Manor. They loved the book. I feel that I must start them early with meerkats; get them while they're young! They also already know that meerkats would not make good pets and I want them to spread the word; get them while they're young! I want them to grow up knowing that MEERKATS RULE!!!
That is wonderful news, please feel free to use any pictures I might take of the FT worth zoo that you would want for the calendar. I do plan on taking more
Hi everyone! Gosh! I feel like I've been away from my mob for ages. I'm glad to be back. It's been a bit of a trying 6 weeks for me to say the least. I had a very stressful burrow move and then I had a ton of extra work with the pet food recall and several of my colleagues taking vacation time. Then my beloved mother in law suffered a massive stroke to the entire left side of her brain which left her unconcious in the hospital. She died 4 days later. It's been very difficult to put it mildly. But I'm hanging in there and have finally been able to catch up on "all things meerkat."
I have wonderful news to post regarding our efforts for the Three Amigos. We have now collectively raised $12,228 (and counting) for the Three Amigos. Every single mob member out there should feel very proud and happy. This was a collective effort by *everyone* pitching in whatever they could for the benefit of the Three Amigos. I am so happy and proud of everyone. Please give yourselves a huge round of applause. I would also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to runs262 and her fiance for generously pledging the final $7500 to help us begin construction sooner than we had expected. Big hugs and kisses to all of you!
We have learned so much from our beloved meerkats and the "mob mentality." We all worked like a team to pull this off. I am so thankful to each and every one of you for giving everything you could - be it money, time, creativity/talent/ideas, spreading the word - all for the well being of three endearing little fuzzies. It's amazing what a small group of dedicated and caring meerkat lovers from all over the world can accomplish in such a short time.
I want to let you all know that even though construction will begin soon, we are going to continue raising funds for the Three Amigos. Our work is not done. Apparently, their diet has much to be desired. They eat a lot of carbohydrates and not enough protein. Unfortunately, this is a monetary issue and so we are going to continue to raise money to provide the Three Amigos with a diet more like what they would eat in the wild. What good is a fancy enclosure if you're not healthy enough to enjoy it? We are also going to use the funds to continue to provide them with enrichment activities and toys. Runs purchased 3 "giggle balls" which she sent me so I could bring them directly to the Three Amigos. Pam uses them at Fellow Earthlings (and if Pam says they're ok - then that's all we need to hear) and they have little openings where you can place treats, meal worms and assortied creepy crawlies and the meerkats have to roll the balls around and work to get the treats out. Hours of enjoyment for the three fuzzies I'm sure.
Currently we are solidifying plans on the design of the enclosure and when construction will begin. We will let you know when the plan is finalized.
I thank you all again for all the work that you have done and continue to do for the three little fuzzies at the Staten Island Zoo which we have come to know as the Three Amigos. Now how about we pick out some names?!
Queenflower, good to hear from you. Welcome back. Sorry for all your stress. I know you will miss your mother-in-law, but it's probably better that she died quickly - my mother didn't and I spent 11 years watching her go downhill after an initial pretty good recovery: 11 years of mourning. Such great news about the 3 Amigos. Runs262 and her fiance are heroes. Kudos to both of you.
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Eruth66 - thank you for your wishes. God has been merciful.
Meerkat1212 - Thank you - it's good to be back. It was merciful that she died quickly. On the first day that she was in the hospital, the neurologist very coldly told us that she had 0% chance of recovering. So we were left having to pray for a miracle. I prayed for a miracle and then I prayed that if a miracle was not in God's will that he would take her quickly and mercifully he did. I'm so sorry to hear what you and your mother had to endure. A slow, long battle with illness is horrible. I'm so sorry.
Topic Closed
Time to decide on a time for the East Coast Meerkat Society meet up at the National Zoo this coming Sunday. I think that we can go about this two different ways.
We are still waiting for more input as to a meeting time for our visit to the National Zoo. It looks like a leaning towards morning but we will decide on Thursday based on what folks have told me.
I know this is late, but I left on the same day, so 1st: Happy Belated Birthday Gene!! Hope you enjoyed your cake & all the grooming from the gang! 
Also, I received my beautiful sun catcher while I was away 
. Great job Gene & I hope you're feeling better! 
Could someone post a link to it, so I can click on it. Copy and paste is not working.