Meet the Meerkats for Two

Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World, Telford Melissa from our Customer Testing Panel, July 2024

What did the experience entail?
We eagerly arrived at the zoo reception explaining we were there to meet the meerkats. The friendly staff gave us our wristbands and said we had to meet at the action barn 10 minutes before the allocated time. We were greeted by our meerkat expert Jody, who gave us a safety briefing and explained that the first half of the experience would be with the indoor Meerkats and the second half of the experience was in the outside enclosure. Even though the weather was changeable, there was a shelter to sit under outside so when it rained, it wasn’t a problem, and it didn’t spoil the experience at all. In fact, the Meerkats wanted to sit on our laps even more so that they could get our body heat! We were given latex gloves and in we went, sitting on large pieces of tree trunks in and amongst the animals. Jody talked to us about where they are from and shared all sorts of interesting facts about how they live in the wild. At regular intervals Jody gave us fruit and veg to feed the Meerkats, which they seemed to love. They jumped all over us and they seemed to know when it was time for mealworms. These were a firm favourite and even though Stumpy only has 3 legs, he still managed to push some of the others out of the way to get his food. All of the meerkats had names, although so many, I can’t recall them all. Steve was a very photogenic meerkat and I’m convinced he posed and smiled for the camera! When we moved to the outside enclosure, it was more of the same but with different Meerkats, there were a few much smaller younger ones in this pack which was really cute as they could only just climb on to our laps. Such cheeky and inquisitive animals at one point we counted 6 sat on my husband’s knee, including Itchy and scratchy both were adorable. He must have had warm legs! Basil tried to open my zip pockets which made me giggle a lot. To see them move so fast when the food came out for them was incredibly entertaining. A truly delightful experience. We were welcome to stay at the zoo as long as we wanted after the experience. This seemed fantastic value as the price of admission was included with the experience, so it felt crazy not to. In addition to the Meerkats there were many other animals at the zoo, including a fabulous Lemur enclosure that you could walk through, wolves, foxes and Ostriches and Llamas to name a few. A great opportunity to learn about all the exotic animals that they look after. For the younger generation there was plenty to do and see including a Dinosaur Woodland walk encounter so a great day out for the entire family. The zoo had great facilities and refreshments, so we enjoyed having lunch there. A day I will remember always. Meeting the Meerkats was by far the highlight of the day and a wonderful memory I will treasure forever.

What did you enjoy the most? Having the Meerkats sat on my lap was incredible, they make the cutest little squeaky noise, and they enjoy a cuddle but watch out! They move fast and go crazy when the mealworms are given out. They are so tame and even though they have long fingernails, they don’t hurt or scratch, they use these more for digging. Learning all the facts about them was brilliant. Such as did you know, the reason they stand on their back legs is not because they are inquisitive, it’s because they want to warm their tummies in the sunlight. Just like me on my summer holidays!

1. If you are a little bit fastidious, be sure to take some trousers to change into. The meerkats will climb all over you to get their share of mealworms.
2. Even though the meerkats are photogenic, they love a good selfie with you, be sure to ask other people in the group to take a photo with your camera so you get your whole party in the image.
3. Make sure you ask lots of questions. The zookeeper was very knowledgeable, so this is your opportunity to learn all about these inquisitive and adorable little animals.
4. Be sure to use the directions provided on the website, using the postcode alone on Sat Nav will not take you to the right place.