Visitors to the Liberec Zoo can see meerkats again after three quarters of a year. They were temporarily in the inaccessible background of the garden due to the reconstruction of their exhibition called the Sod House, which required over a million crowns. For now, the meerkats are inside the house, they will get out in a few days. Barbara Tesařová, spokeswoman for the garden, told ČTK today.
“They need to get used to the new environment first,” she said. The previous sod house was in a state of disrepair, only the reconstruction was not enough and it had to be demolished. “It was leaking through the roof and walls. The new house is on the original floor plan,” added Tesařová. In addition to the meerkats, after the construction of the new sod house, the loggerhead turtle and the loggerhead turtle were able to return to their exhibits.
The Liberec Zoo started breeding meerkats as early as 1969, but the original group was only there until 1974. These popular little beasts reappeared in the garden in 2006, and the first successful breeding of cubs took place in Liberec six years later. Meerkats are among the most popular animals among visitors, especially among children. “You can tell by the fact that they have the most sponsors and partners of all the animals in our country, over ten,” said the spokeswoman of the garden.
In the wild, meerkats inhabit dry savannas, deserts and semi-deserts in the South African interior. They move in groups of up to three dozen individuals with a strict social structure. It is headed by a dominant couple and only they can have young. Several members of the group have a guard function. While the other members of the colony are looking for food, they keep an eye out for potential predators. Sentinels stand upright on ridges or bushes, monitor the surroundings and, in case of danger, emit barking sounds to warn other meerkats.
The Liberec Zoo, which is the oldest in the republic, keeps over 160 species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. More than half of them belong to European conservation programs. This year, around 160,000 people have visited the Liberec Zoo so far. “It is more than last year at this time, but less than two years ago. So the attendance is not bad. A lot depends on what the weather is like. As it was hot now, people were more likely to go to the water,” added the spokeswoman of the garden.
Source: www.tyden.cz
