24/7 care for rejected meerkat

Feb 1 2012

Aquarium staff are working round the clock to care for a baby meerkat rejected by its mother.

The tiny creature, born on January 19, needs to be fed every two hours to survive.

Staff at the male meerkat's home in St Andrews Aquarium, Fife, have set up a 24/7 system of care to ensure he gets the nutrition he needs to grow.

It is not known why the meerkat, named Oliver Twist, was rejected by his mother but four staff have stepped in to fill the gap.

Andrew Whiston, displays manager at the aquarium, said: "Maternal rejection in the animal kingdom is largely unexplained but, for whatever reason, poor Oliver Twist has been left out in the proverbial cold by his mother when he is just days old.

"While we ordinarily don't like to interfere with nature's course, we certainly weren't prepared to see any harm come to this little man which means, in very simple terms, that we have stepped in to feed and nurse Oliver until he matures.

"Between us we've set up a care rota which ensures he is fed every two hours, day and night, and we're working to keep him warm and safe. Our team is literally working around the clock to care for this little fellow and, once he's bigger and stronger, we hope to be able to reintroduce him back into the pack as a mature meerkat."

Oliver Twist was born alone and was not part of a litter. His parents Wills and Kate had a litter of five and a litter of three last year and the aquarium has another adult meerkat, making a total of 12.