Today I visited the mob and had the opportunity of asking one of the keepers during feeding time, if Möfzi had died. The answer was positive :-(
The first two weeks in February were bitter cold and as I had already written in January, Möfzi was very frail and had been suffering from health troubles. I do not know her exact day of death, but I will ask the main keeper in charge of the mob, when I see him.
I had been thinking about her often during this period of cold and snow.
Möfzi was ancient, between 13 and 14 years. I hope she had an easy death without any suffering and simply fell asleep and did not wake up again.
Another mystery to be solved is that Snoutie has been missing since about mid-January.
I do not know what happened to him, hopefully not another sad death, he was only a little more than 3 years old and always happy and healthy.
So this leave the mob down to 5 members: Flatears, Stubby Tail, Orlok, Caruso and Sayuri.
I still have to remove the pics from my camera, it looks like the two girls are fighting again.
Stubby Tail had some mysterious fluff in his fur, which look dirty and matted in this place, maybe a wound maybe just some wet dirt where the fluff got stuck.
The three males left will be 10 years old some time this summer.
I wonder what will happen to the mob, as non of the males is interessted in any of the females.
Showing posts with label Möfzi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Möfzi. Show all posts
16/01/2012
No news is good news
A belated happy new year to you meerkat fans out there.
I am really sorry for not being able to post regularly, but my current life leaves very little space for this blog.
All of you will certainly be pleased to read that our dear, ancient Möfzi is still alive!
Me and a friend visited a couple of days ago and I also paid some visits during the last year. There is not much going on in the mob, still no new couple and I guess, nothing along that line is likely to happen unless new meerkats are introduced into the group.
Möfzi is now toothless. She is suffering from an ekzema on her back, which is treated with vitamin shots and she also receives additional vitamins with her daily food.
If it was not for her broken front paw, she would still be able to walk normally. Now she is rather pushing herself along and stopping every couple of steps, but she still manages to get into and out of the inside enclosure. Her mice will be cut for her, or she gets cat food instead.
When we arrived, she was inside the heated outdoor den looking out. She reminds me of those German housewives spending their days at the window sill, ellbows on a cushion, looking at the world. Minus pin curlers and apron dress ;-)
Despite all those physical troubles, she looks pretty much content and is unmolested by any other members of the group.
We talked to her keeper, who said that she should get monument, when she dies.
It is apparent that he loves this old, though lady, too.
Who would have thought that she makes another winter?
I am really sorry for not being able to post regularly, but my current life leaves very little space for this blog.
All of you will certainly be pleased to read that our dear, ancient Möfzi is still alive!
Me and a friend visited a couple of days ago and I also paid some visits during the last year. There is not much going on in the mob, still no new couple and I guess, nothing along that line is likely to happen unless new meerkats are introduced into the group.
Möfzi is now toothless. She is suffering from an ekzema on her back, which is treated with vitamin shots and she also receives additional vitamins with her daily food.
 |
| Möfzi with 13+ years |
 |
| Möfzi taking a peek outside |
Despite all those physical troubles, she looks pretty much content and is unmolested by any other members of the group.
We talked to her keeper, who said that she should get monument, when she dies.
It is apparent that he loves this old, though lady, too.
Who would have thought that she makes another winter?
10/04/2011
A new springtime
Dear meerkat-fans out there, I am sorry for not posting here for such a long time, but these last two years found me very busy...
Maybe I should give you a short update on the things that happened since the last post in September 2010.
The mob is still without a dominant couple but Möfzi, former DF is still alive, even though you would not say "kicking". Today one of the keepers told some people that she is 13 years now, which makes her a real meerkat Methuselah.
Möfzi went through a couple of crises these last months, the meanest thing was a huge abscess on her right hind leg which left her limping badly. The abscess was opened and cleaned and she was kept in a separate enclosure inside, but with sniffing contact to the other group members.
A friend and I were let into this enclosure by one of the keepers, and we had the chance to see her being fed and taken care of. We could see that the keeper was very touched by how tough and strong this old female still is. He told us that she was on the brink of death for about two days, struggling with the huge wound. On day three though, she got up and started eating again.
She is very weak, which is particularly due to not being able to chew properly. Once in a while they will keep her separate and feed her some additional stuff, she will also receive vitamin shots etc. As you will see in the pictures I´ll post further down, she looks shrunken.
Her right front paw, which was broken in winter 09 is giving her trouble, too. It is bent and looked slightly swollen. Möfzi is very slow now, but she will not miss any occasion snatching additional treats.
Unfortunately I did not bring egg or sth. just some dandelion, which is currently in full bloom and the which the kats really love.
One of the highlights I witnessed in the last months was the kats being given a whole dead rabbit to eat and play with. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera on this day. At first I wondered, why all the kats had so much blood on them, but looking into the inside enclosure I saw them going at the rabbit. On such occasions you can see that they are really mean predators, they love the blood and gore!
A lot has changed for the kats since their exhibt was started in 2000.
These last weeks the enclosure had a total makeover, with all the lookout hills being re-modelled, and two dead trees being put into the enclosure for the kats to climb onto. One of the real highlights though is that one of these newly made hills features a heated den! The kats will love this on windy and cold days!
In the beginning, in 2000 their enclosure was rather bleak and got bleaker within the next years, with the kats digging through every inch of ground, no new stuff being put into the enclosure etc. From 2000 until 2007/08 nothing much was done to brighten their lives.
With meerkats being very curious animals which get bored easily, this was a dreary situation. And of course they did not want to breed under these conditions. Möfzi had a couple of pregnancies which sadly resulted in misscarriages. One successful birth must have been around summer 2004, but the pups were attacked by the mob or she might even have killed them herself.
2004 was a bad year anyway, Stubby Tail had an abscess which was in need of treatment. He could not eat properly for several weeks, losing weight. It took ages until he was treated correctly. Since then he has been suffering from swellings on the right side of his nose, which will never go away completely. Today he had a swelling oozing pus from his right eye.
These nasal swellings can be found in most members of the group, the keepers think that they results from clogged sinuses and are not sure what the cause might be.
Today found all members well and relaxed even though there had been an event in the afternoon with thousands of people visiting in this fine and warm spring weather.
I will post a couple of pictures I made today.
The three youngsters Caruso, Sayuri and Snoutie.
Left: Orlok and Möfzi taking a nap
Middle: Snoutie and Möfzi
Right: Snoutie, Möfzi and Orlok
Close-ups of Möfzi, now aged 13.
In the right pic you can see her twisted right front paw.
You will also notice the long claws, as she will no longer use this paw for digging.
Left: Orlok sitting on one of the dead trees in the enclosure.
Middle: Snoutie on the newly made lookout featuring a heated den.
Right: Re-modelled hills, the large one on the right features the heated den.
Maybe I should give you a short update on the things that happened since the last post in September 2010.
The mob is still without a dominant couple but Möfzi, former DF is still alive, even though you would not say "kicking". Today one of the keepers told some people that she is 13 years now, which makes her a real meerkat Methuselah.
Möfzi went through a couple of crises these last months, the meanest thing was a huge abscess on her right hind leg which left her limping badly. The abscess was opened and cleaned and she was kept in a separate enclosure inside, but with sniffing contact to the other group members.
A friend and I were let into this enclosure by one of the keepers, and we had the chance to see her being fed and taken care of. We could see that the keeper was very touched by how tough and strong this old female still is. He told us that she was on the brink of death for about two days, struggling with the huge wound. On day three though, she got up and started eating again.
She is very weak, which is particularly due to not being able to chew properly. Once in a while they will keep her separate and feed her some additional stuff, she will also receive vitamin shots etc. As you will see in the pictures I´ll post further down, she looks shrunken.
Her right front paw, which was broken in winter 09 is giving her trouble, too. It is bent and looked slightly swollen. Möfzi is very slow now, but she will not miss any occasion snatching additional treats.
Unfortunately I did not bring egg or sth. just some dandelion, which is currently in full bloom and the which the kats really love.
One of the highlights I witnessed in the last months was the kats being given a whole dead rabbit to eat and play with. Unfortunately I did not bring my camera on this day. At first I wondered, why all the kats had so much blood on them, but looking into the inside enclosure I saw them going at the rabbit. On such occasions you can see that they are really mean predators, they love the blood and gore!
A lot has changed for the kats since their exhibt was started in 2000.
These last weeks the enclosure had a total makeover, with all the lookout hills being re-modelled, and two dead trees being put into the enclosure for the kats to climb onto. One of the real highlights though is that one of these newly made hills features a heated den! The kats will love this on windy and cold days!
In the beginning, in 2000 their enclosure was rather bleak and got bleaker within the next years, with the kats digging through every inch of ground, no new stuff being put into the enclosure etc. From 2000 until 2007/08 nothing much was done to brighten their lives.
With meerkats being very curious animals which get bored easily, this was a dreary situation. And of course they did not want to breed under these conditions. Möfzi had a couple of pregnancies which sadly resulted in misscarriages. One successful birth must have been around summer 2004, but the pups were attacked by the mob or she might even have killed them herself.
2004 was a bad year anyway, Stubby Tail had an abscess which was in need of treatment. He could not eat properly for several weeks, losing weight. It took ages until he was treated correctly. Since then he has been suffering from swellings on the right side of his nose, which will never go away completely. Today he had a swelling oozing pus from his right eye.
These nasal swellings can be found in most members of the group, the keepers think that they results from clogged sinuses and are not sure what the cause might be.
Today found all members well and relaxed even though there had been an event in the afternoon with thousands of people visiting in this fine and warm spring weather.
I will post a couple of pictures I made today.
The three youngsters Caruso, Sayuri and Snoutie.
Left: Orlok and Möfzi taking a nap
Middle: Snoutie and Möfzi
Right: Snoutie, Möfzi and Orlok
Close-ups of Möfzi, now aged 13.
In the right pic you can see her twisted right front paw.
You will also notice the long claws, as she will no longer use this paw for digging.
Left: Orlok sitting on one of the dead trees in the enclosure.
Middle: Snoutie on the newly made lookout featuring a heated den.
Right: Re-modelled hills, the large one on the right features the heated den.
03/11/2008
Möfzi and Sayuri try a new look and an old feud will never end
After Möfzi already tried to wear a fashionable sawdust attachment on her face, Sayuri tried a slightly belated Halloween-Gothic make-up today.
After the fog had cleared in the late morning, we had a mild day with glorious sunshine and there is still lots of bright foliage left on the trees. As the weather was so fine, I decided to visit the kats today. On Saturday during my last visit, it was rather nasty and cold outside.
The kats spend a lot of time under the heatlamps, but they are outdoors most of the time. They will only move indoors about an hour before sunset to spend some time under the heatlamps.
But they sleep outside in their burrow, I watched them retreat for the night when the sun was almost down.
There seem to be some hot issues between Flat-Ears and Jolly Roger, though. Jolly Roger chased him out of the inside enclosure, even though Flat-Ears was sitting there all by himself. Jolly Roger also asserted dominace by lunging at him and chasing him off for no evident reason.
We`ve had this behaviour a couple of times before and sometimes it`s really Flat-Ear`s fault, as he sometime simply does not know how to "behave" towards his superior.
Some years ago we watched Flat-Ears being chased and mobbed by everyone, including Orlok, who would normally defend him against Jolly Roger. But not this time.
After some time we found out, what the problem was, though. As Flat-Ears is not allowed to mate with Möfzi, he tried his luck with poor Stubby Tail, who is also a male.
At that time Möfzi must have been in oestrus, so Jolly Roger might have been confused "What, another girl...? And this lout is stealing her away..."
He would try mating with Möfzi - who turned him down, by simply sitting it out - but then the activities behind his back would distract him and he would lunge at Flat-Ears.
I am not sure what caused the dominance assertion today, either Möfzi is in oestrus, or Flat-Ears is trying his luck with Stubby Tail again, or it`s just a matter of principle. Who knows.
Back to Sayuri and the other two pups! It will not take very long until they will have outgrown Swingkat. Snoutie (Rüsselchen) is already almost as tall as him, but he was always the biggest of the three pups.
When I arrived some moron had obviously thrown in a whole piece of some salty pastry ("Laugenstange" in German, it`s quite yummy, but not for kats!) and Sayuri was first in carrying the largest piece - which was about half the size of her body - around and defending it furiously.
The was a wild chase with everybody trying to get their share, except for Stubby Tail who spent the time on the big lookout hill doing sentry duty.
The problem with this kind of pastries is that they tend to stick in the kat`s mouths and they often have a hard time, getting those pieces unstuck. They sometime sneeze and nearly vomit (and sometimes they really vomit, too!).
Hard bread is not that problematic, as they simply chew and bite of small pieces. But this stuff is rather soft and they tend to rip out large chunks.
Poor Swingkat also had a large share and had a hard time getting the stuff unstuck.
I really hate those people!! I mean there are HUGE SIGNS printed on orange paper asking people NOT to feed the kats.
Why don`t they go and feed the ducks, for god`s sake!!
Apart from this, the pups have already learned to beg for treats from visitors and this kind of stuff is certainly no good food for them! I am afraid that they might already have tried ice-cream and other junk thrown in by irresponsible visitors.
As many of the kats have dental problems, I am afraid that the pups will already grow up with bad teeth and some of the adults will also encounter massive problems in the next years.
So this is the downside of such an open animal park, where you can come an go as you like.
But anyway everybody looked healthy and happy enough today. The treatment for Stubby Tail`s and Flat-Ear`s sinus problems seems to help, the bumps on their noses are nearly gone. It also looks, as if they had been opened and cleaned.
Möfzi is very very round at the moment, I am not so sure, if she is just getting fat, or she might be pregnant again. Wait and see!
So here come some pictures I took this afternoon, they are not too good, as I am no expert with this high-tech camera-thingy, but I managed to get a very cute shot of Sayuri with black make-up. She had been digging inside a root stub from a discarded potted plant and the black earth got stuck in in her face.
The video of Möfzi was taken some weeks ago.
Left: Sayuri with new make-up and right Snoutie (Rüsselchen) relaxing under the heat lamps
Swingkat under the heat lamp. On the right picture he is still trying to get rid of the pastry stuck in his mouth.
Inside under the heat lamp with uncles Stubby Tail (back) and Orlok (front), the pups are Sayuri and Snoutie
After the fog had cleared in the late morning, we had a mild day with glorious sunshine and there is still lots of bright foliage left on the trees. As the weather was so fine, I decided to visit the kats today. On Saturday during my last visit, it was rather nasty and cold outside.
The kats spend a lot of time under the heatlamps, but they are outdoors most of the time. They will only move indoors about an hour before sunset to spend some time under the heatlamps.
But they sleep outside in their burrow, I watched them retreat for the night when the sun was almost down.
There seem to be some hot issues between Flat-Ears and Jolly Roger, though. Jolly Roger chased him out of the inside enclosure, even though Flat-Ears was sitting there all by himself. Jolly Roger also asserted dominace by lunging at him and chasing him off for no evident reason.
We`ve had this behaviour a couple of times before and sometimes it`s really Flat-Ear`s fault, as he sometime simply does not know how to "behave" towards his superior.
Some years ago we watched Flat-Ears being chased and mobbed by everyone, including Orlok, who would normally defend him against Jolly Roger. But not this time.
After some time we found out, what the problem was, though. As Flat-Ears is not allowed to mate with Möfzi, he tried his luck with poor Stubby Tail, who is also a male.
At that time Möfzi must have been in oestrus, so Jolly Roger might have been confused "What, another girl...? And this lout is stealing her away..."
He would try mating with Möfzi - who turned him down, by simply sitting it out - but then the activities behind his back would distract him and he would lunge at Flat-Ears.
I am not sure what caused the dominance assertion today, either Möfzi is in oestrus, or Flat-Ears is trying his luck with Stubby Tail again, or it`s just a matter of principle. Who knows.
Back to Sayuri and the other two pups! It will not take very long until they will have outgrown Swingkat. Snoutie (Rüsselchen) is already almost as tall as him, but he was always the biggest of the three pups.
When I arrived some moron had obviously thrown in a whole piece of some salty pastry ("Laugenstange" in German, it`s quite yummy, but not for kats!) and Sayuri was first in carrying the largest piece - which was about half the size of her body - around and defending it furiously.
The was a wild chase with everybody trying to get their share, except for Stubby Tail who spent the time on the big lookout hill doing sentry duty.
The problem with this kind of pastries is that they tend to stick in the kat`s mouths and they often have a hard time, getting those pieces unstuck. They sometime sneeze and nearly vomit (and sometimes they really vomit, too!).
Hard bread is not that problematic, as they simply chew and bite of small pieces. But this stuff is rather soft and they tend to rip out large chunks.
Poor Swingkat also had a large share and had a hard time getting the stuff unstuck.
I really hate those people!! I mean there are HUGE SIGNS printed on orange paper asking people NOT to feed the kats.
Why don`t they go and feed the ducks, for god`s sake!!
Apart from this, the pups have already learned to beg for treats from visitors and this kind of stuff is certainly no good food for them! I am afraid that they might already have tried ice-cream and other junk thrown in by irresponsible visitors.
As many of the kats have dental problems, I am afraid that the pups will already grow up with bad teeth and some of the adults will also encounter massive problems in the next years.
So this is the downside of such an open animal park, where you can come an go as you like.
But anyway everybody looked healthy and happy enough today. The treatment for Stubby Tail`s and Flat-Ear`s sinus problems seems to help, the bumps on their noses are nearly gone. It also looks, as if they had been opened and cleaned.
Möfzi is very very round at the moment, I am not so sure, if she is just getting fat, or she might be pregnant again. Wait and see!
So here come some pictures I took this afternoon, they are not too good, as I am no expert with this high-tech camera-thingy, but I managed to get a very cute shot of Sayuri with black make-up. She had been digging inside a root stub from a discarded potted plant and the black earth got stuck in in her face.
The video of Möfzi was taken some weeks ago.
Left: Sayuri with new make-up and right Snoutie (Rüsselchen) relaxing under the heat lamps
Swingkat under the heat lamp. On the right picture he is still trying to get rid of the pastry stuck in his mouth.
Inside under the heat lamp with uncles Stubby Tail (back) and Orlok (front), the pups are Sayuri and Snoutie
25/08/2008
Meerkat Mom Möfzi
At the beginning of June we thought that Möfzi, the dominant female of the group, might be pregnant. As we are regular visitors (usually once a week) we soon realized that she really was pregnant...
Clear signs of pregnancy in meerkats are usually visible after approx. 1 month, the duration of pregnancy is around 70 days, so we expected the babies to be born in Mid-July.
When we visited on July 12, she was really well-rounded, so we decided to visit again in the next days. On our visit on July 15 Möfzi had disappeared...
We spent some time circling the enclosure, when suddenly we heard baby noises from one of the burrow entrances.: Möfzi was carrying one of her tiny pups from one side of the burrow to the next. She was very nervous and the rest of the group was on edge and barked at the smallest things which they would usually ignore, like planes flying over the enclosure etc.
Baby meerkats are born blind, naked and with ears and eyes closed. They usually spend the first 3-4 weeks underground. Their ears and eyes open approx. 10-14 days after birth.
At this time it was not clear, whether there was only one pup, or several pups being carried around by their mother. Here is the first video we made of Möfzi's babies:
After 2,5 weeks the pups very already trying to make their first steps, always under the surveillance of the group.
This was when we discovered that the pup with the missing tail tip might have a handicap. The mother ofter carried her (it`s a girl) around by her tiny leg and she was often covered in dirt. She appeared weaker and did not cry as loud as the other pups.
When the pups emerged by themselves at around 3 weeks this handicap became apparent. She was not able to climb out of the burrow and had difficulties finding her way, as she would often lose her direction falling over etc.
This is a picture of her at about 3 weeks old.
When we took our holiday at the beginning of August, we were afraid that she might not survive...
Clear signs of pregnancy in meerkats are usually visible after approx. 1 month, the duration of pregnancy is around 70 days, so we expected the babies to be born in Mid-July.
When we visited on July 12, she was really well-rounded, so we decided to visit again in the next days. On our visit on July 15 Möfzi had disappeared...
We spent some time circling the enclosure, when suddenly we heard baby noises from one of the burrow entrances.: Möfzi was carrying one of her tiny pups from one side of the burrow to the next. She was very nervous and the rest of the group was on edge and barked at the smallest things which they would usually ignore, like planes flying over the enclosure etc.
Baby meerkats are born blind, naked and with ears and eyes closed. They usually spend the first 3-4 weeks underground. Their ears and eyes open approx. 10-14 days after birth.
At this time it was not clear, whether there was only one pup, or several pups being carried around by their mother. Here is the first video we made of Möfzi's babies:
It was not clear, whether there was only one pup, or several pups, as they were too tiny to distinguish. We were quite concerned about the pups, as they are usually kept below ground for the first weeks.
Several days later, we discovered this:
Three baby meerkats! What a wonderful surprise!
Their eyes had just opened and their fur was still very sparse. Even though it was still too early for the pups to be above ground, they seemed fit and healthy enough.
Their mother was still very nervous and dragged the pups around a lot, unfortunately she did not always carry them in the best way (by the scruff of their neck), but sometimes by one of their tiny legs or even the tail, OUCH!!
We also discovered that one of the pups is missing part of its tail... There is also an adult male with the tip of his tail missing, so now he`s got company.
After 2,5 weeks the pups very already trying to make their first steps, always under the surveillance of the group.
This was when we discovered that the pup with the missing tail tip might have a handicap. The mother ofter carried her (it`s a girl) around by her tiny leg and she was often covered in dirt. She appeared weaker and did not cry as loud as the other pups.
When the pups emerged by themselves at around 3 weeks this handicap became apparent. She was not able to climb out of the burrow and had difficulties finding her way, as she would often lose her direction falling over etc.
This is a picture of her at about 3 weeks old.
When we took our holiday at the beginning of August, we were afraid that she might not survive...... so it was a wonderful surprise to come back after two weeks and see her having made rapid progress!
She is still prone to stagger or fall, but manages to climb out of ANY hole and over ANY obstacle by herself. She still cannot stand on her hindlegs, like her littermates, but she is trying!
She is taken special care of by the Mundenhof keepers and get twice daily Vitamin-B-shots, for which she has to be caught... but she likes to hide ;-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
