Meerkat Magic

I was recently working in Swinley Forest and had the opportunity to hold a meerkat..... again. I know that it seems a bit of an odd place to find a meerkat, near Bracknell, but I was working on a team event called 'I am a Team Player, Get Me Out of Here', loosely based on the very similarly named popular TV show. We were providing a scaled down version of the hit series and there was a guy who pitched up with £5,000 worth of creepy crawlies and other exotic animals in the back of his van for 'animal encounters'. This included a Chilean rose tarantula (which I gingerly held - I have a bit of a phobia about large hairy spiders so it was a big thing for me), a vat of crickets, a number of snakes including an impressive albino python and two adorable meerkats.

The last time I held a meerkat was in the back of beyond in South Africa, a rescue meerkat from the bush, and as I cradled the one in Swinley Forest whilst it made a chirrup purring noise, it brought back memories of my wonderful meerkat experience.

I had been working with a game capture unit and we were based at a farmstead where we were trying to catch inyala. There was obviously a caring side to the owners as there were rescue animals of all shapes and sizes living in the house, ranging from wild cats to meerkats. All things fluffy and cuddly and I fell in love with the place.

It may not seem much, but I was asked to look after the new addition, a meerkat, a small bundle of fluff that needed constant supervision and needed to be kept warm.  I was offered this rather important roll and this small male pup instantly became attached to me, and me to it. Meerkats go around in groups called a 'mob', 'gang' or a 'clan' and I like to think I became part of his 'gang', with him tucked into my fleece to keep off the chill of the cold African mornings.

Meerkats are intriguing animals, they can dig as much dirt as their own body weight in a couple of seconds, they are immune to the poison of snakes and scorpions and they are such good hunters that some have been tamed to become rodent catchers. However, they are the favourite food for eagles and hawks and with a sharp shrill from one of the meerkat sentries the whole clan will disappear into their burrow network - young meerkats are so afraid of predatory birds that even airplanes will send them diving for cover!

And that was where I came in.  I protected this bundle of joy from 'airplanes', kept him warm from the harsh African weather and spoke to him as a team member.  It was a joy that only lasted for two days but provided memories for a life time.

You never forget when a wild animal accepts you into their pack, despite its size.