Keyta the Meerkat

Keyta was born on January 20, 2024 to experienced parents Amani and Xola. Meerkats usually have 2-4 pups per litter, but sadly Keyta’s litter-mate brother was stillborn. Keyta was the smaller of the two, but he was a little fighter from the very start. By 4 days old he weighed only 43 grams, at that stage he was still blind and staying in the safety of his heated nest box. He opened his eyes for the first time at 12 days old, and by that time he was 71 grams. As the only-child, Keyta was getting more milk than the average meerkat pup, so he started hitting milestones at an earlier age than most. Most meerkat pups start emerging from their dens at 3 weeks of age, but Keyta started a week early!

He explored with amazing confidence for one so young; thankfully always under the watchful eyes of mum, dad and 9 older siblings. Together, the family taught Keyta all he needed to know, such as what foods are safe to eat, how to communicate with other meerkats and how to recognize (and respond appropriately) to potential threats.

At 13 weeks of age, Keyta’s life took a big turn when mum Amani gave birth to her next litter! Two more pups, named Harvey and Felix, became the new focus of everyone’s attention. At first Keyta was not a fan of his new siblings: he tried to steal any food given to the new pups and quite literally begged the adults to give him all the attention! Poor Keyta didn’t realize that he was now considered a teenager in meerkat society…

But thankfully - with time - Keyta came to love his new siblings and tries (emphasis on tries) to help raise them alongside the rest of his family. Every individual matter in a meerkat society, and every single meerkat has their own personality and story to share. Only by working together are they able to thrive. They never fail to amaze me.