A Trio of Tiny Baby Meerkats Learn How to Forage Using Colorful Plastic Balls With Treats Inside

Meerkat babies colorful balls

A trio of tiny meerkat pups at the Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh, New South Wales, Australia adorably began learning how to forage for food as they played with colorful plastic balls that had treats embedded inside. The pups were born two months ago and like many of the animals at the park, are part of a zoo conservation program.

The pups, now 2 months of age, have just started venturing out on exhibit with parents ‘Aya and Penfold’, and have taken a particular liking to the animal enrichments that the keepers have been preparing each day. Ball enrichment is clearly their favourite, which is designed to make them learn the skills of foraging from their parents, along with providing them with additional stimulation to have fun, and fun they have!

The pups have grown quite a bit in just the three weeks between an outing in early October and the playtime above.

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.