Local
Meerkats exhibit to open Memorial Day Weekend at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk
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Mar 13, 2010 - 6:51 PM

A meerkat stands sentry in front of a burrow opening – one of six meerkats that will be displayed beginning May 28 (Memorial Day Weekend) in a new special exhibit at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

NORWALK, CT – A family of meerkats, one of Africa’s most entertaining species, will burrow into visitors’ hearts in a new special exhibit opening Memorial Day at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.

“Meerkats” opens May 28 – Memorial Day Weekend – and will be at the Aquarium through February 2012.

First popularized by the comical sidekick Timon in Disney’s “The Lion King,” and then celebrated in the Animal Planet television series “Meerkat Manor” (2005-2009), meerkats are members of the mongoose family that live in social “mobs” or “gangs” of up to 30 members in burrows in the Kalahari Desert, in the southern African nations of Botswana and South Africa.

No mere cats, meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are fascinating for living in structured but cooperative societies, including a foraging strategy where adults take turns standing guard upright on their hind feet, watching for predators, while the others eat. As the popular “Meerkat Manor” television series showed, the family-based “mobs” are not lacking in daily drama – from internal relationship issues to battles with other “mobs” encroaching on their territory to the ever-present fear of jackals and eagles.

“These are active animals with very charismatic faces and highly interesting social structures, so they’ll be a lot of fun for visitors to watch,” said Jack Schneider, the Aquarium’s curator of animals.

The exhibit will feature six sibling meerkats – three males, three females – born in the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Their Maritime Aquarium habitat will offer windows into their underground burrows, so all meerkat activity will be within view. And there will be a viewing bubble, so visitors can stand up right among the meerkats.

Almost like a good television sit-com generates new hit shows, the meerkat exhibit will be the second big “spin-off” from The Maritime Aquarium’s major special exhibit, “African Underwater Safari.” The first – “African Penguins,” featuring a small colony of the comical birds native to South Africa – opened in February 2009 and helped the Aquarium to one of its biggest summers ever. “African Penguins” will be open through December 2010.

The “African Underwater Safari” exhibit displays some of the lesser-known but equally fascinating aquatic creatures of Africa, including lungfish, colorful cichlids, electric catfish and – appropriately for Africa – elephant-nose fish.

Interspersed throughout are important messages about animal adaptations, the importance of habitat preservation, and stories that show how fish from the other side of the world face challenges similar to those in Long Island Sound. It’s sponsored by Bank of America.

“We believe that the new ‘Meerkats’ exhibit, combined with ‘African Penguins’ and “African Underwater Safari,’ provide an excellent bonus value for Maritime Aquarium visitors right now, especially when you consider that all three are included with general admission,” said Chris Loynd, the Aquarium’s marketing director. “At no time in our history have you been able to enjoy this amount of additional and excellent live-animal presentations … and there’s no additional cost!”

Maritime Aquarium general admission is $11.75 adults, $10.75 for seniors 65+, and $9.75 for children 2-12.

For more information about The Maritime Aquarium’s exhibits, IMAX movies and programs, go online to www.MaritimeAquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700.


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