Japanese photographer mamekoro51 has one of the coolest hobby’s that one could imagine – taking photos of baby animals!
On a recent visit to Inokashira Natural Cultural Park in Musashino City, Tokyo, the animal lover came across an adorable meerkat family with newborn pups, one of whom was a little shy for the camera.
At first, the little guy was shy! But he slowly warmed up to the camera!
The meerkat is a small carnivoran in the mongoose family. These adorable animals live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and South Africa.
A group of meerkats is called a “mob”, “gang” or “clan”. Most meerkat families have around 20 meerkats, but some have up to 50 plus. Meerkats will also live roughly 12-14 years.
Meerkats babysit the young in the group. Females that have never produced offspring of their own often lactate to feed the alpha pair’s young and they also protect these cute baby animals from threats, often endangering their own lives.
If danger comes, the babysitter will take the young underground for safety.
In addition to meerkats being cute and chill, they can also be a tad harsh. Meerkats sometimes kill young members of their group. Subordinate meerkats have been seen killing the offspring of more senior members in order to improve their own offspring’s position.
Meerkats become sexual around 2 years old and can have anywhere from 2-4 pups in a litter.
Inokashira Park Zoo is located in a quiet and distinctive suburb of Tokyo. It exhibits a variety of Japanese species and contributes to the conservation and breeding of Japanese squirrels, mandarin ducks, and swans. The park also comprises a pond, a botanical garden and Seibo Kitamura (Japanese sculptor) Museum.
Other animals at the zoo include: Asiatic elephants, rhesus monkeys, raccoons, fennecs, Japanese serows, Japanese martens, masked palm civets, Amur cats, raccoon dogs, Japanese squirrels, red-crowned cranes, Japanese birds, tropical birds, mandarin ducks and swans.
