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 meerkat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meerkat. 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.
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| Möfzi with 13+ years |
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| 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.
25/08/2008
Mundenhof Mob, a short introduction
The meerkat enclosure at the Mundenhof was opened in 1999.
The group as we know it and present it here, has been around since 2002, when 5 baby males were introduced. Before this the group consisted of 4 animals, of which only the dominant female of the current group is present still.
We have been regular visitors for over 6 years now and know each of the kats, their habits, their characters and preferrences.
Each of the meerkats has distinctive marks by which it can be distinguished from the other members, for example tail length, size, colour of fur etc.
The group has recently expanded to 9 members, as three baby-meerkats were born in mid-July.
The Mundenhof group consists of 6 adults (5 males, one female) and their babies.
The dominant female is about 8-9 years old, the males were born in 2002.
Mundenhof animal park is located in Freiburg, close to the Black forest and to the borders of France and Switzerland. Admission is free, there is only a parking fee.
The group as we know it and present it here, has been around since 2002, when 5 baby males were introduced. Before this the group consisted of 4 animals, of which only the dominant female of the current group is present still.
We have been regular visitors for over 6 years now and know each of the kats, their habits, their characters and preferrences.
Each of the meerkats has distinctive marks by which it can be distinguished from the other members, for example tail length, size, colour of fur etc.
The group has recently expanded to 9 members, as three baby-meerkats were born in mid-July.
The Mundenhof group consists of 6 adults (5 males, one female) and their babies.
The dominant female is about 8-9 years old, the males were born in 2002.
Mundenhof animal park is located in Freiburg, close to the Black forest and to the borders of France and Switzerland. Admission is free, there is only a parking fee.
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