Zoo's baby meerkats are unveiled

Newquay Zoo's new meerkats Enlarge Image

Four baby meerkats which were born at a zoo in Cornwall have made their first appearances in public.

Born to mother Peggy and father Scampy at Newquay Zoo, keepers looking after the quartet have named them Snippit, Bumble, Titch and Fraggle.

Zoo spokeswoman Michelle Turton said the new meerkats appeared within several weeks of their parents being moved to a new enclosure.

She said they were already proving to be a "mischievous little bunch".

She said: "Our meerkat family recently moved into a new home near our children's play area and within a few weeks they had four beautiful babies.

"They have great characters and are certainly a mischievous little bunch with lots of play fighting and rolling around.

"Their older sibling, called Pippet, is also keeping an eye them."

The animals, which come from southern Africa, have a gestation period of 11 weeks, with females giving birth to two to five young in a nursery chamber of their burrow.