'A real fighter': Missing meerkat back in safe hands as police investigate

A man and woman are assisting police with their inquiries. It is understood those involved in the disappearance intended to keep the young meerkat as a pet.

The meerkat enclosure at Perth Zoo was closed on Saturday as the young animal recuperated. Zoo staff said the animal was “stressed” but recovering well.

Perth Zoo senior veterinarian Simone Vitali said: “all the things are lining up that we’re going to have a good outcome.”

Kensington Police Sergeant Dean Kelland said inquiries were ongoing but said there was no suggestion the Beverley property was connected to animal trafficking.

Details on the heist were scant, but Sergeant Kelland said police and zoo staff would pore over evidence in the coming weeks to figure out just how the baby meerkat was swiped from its enclosure.

He said it was a relief to have a happy outcome to the case and always held faith the officers assigned to investigate would get to the bottom of it.

“I can tell you, at 8 o’clock last night when I received a text message I was very relieved myself,” he said.

Sergeant Kelland said police were still evaluating what charges could be laid over the incident.

“It’s believed that the meerkat was stolen, we’re looking into that and that’ll all be part of the ongoing investigation,” he said.

But it is surely one of the stranger cases to come across the desk at Kensington Police.

“I don’t think there’s anything normal about anything being stolen from a zoo,” Sergeant Kelland said.

“You hear about it, you hear rumours about things like this, but being involved in it’s a completely different thing.

“It’s definitely got us standing up like a meerkat.”

Not out of the woods yet

Dr Vitali said while the baby was recovering well from its ordeal, there was still potential that it would not be taken back by the other meerkats at the zoo enclosure.

“We’re all really relieved to have him back with us now,” she said. “We’ve done a full examination on him now — he was very stressed and tired and hungry just like any bub that’s been away from mum.

“But after an evening of getting his favourite foods and getting a bit of warmth and a bit of quiet he’s really bounced back quite well, so we’re really happy with his progress so far.”

Zookeepers will keep a watchful eye over the coming days to properly reunite the meerkat with his family.

“We’ve got high hopes that the family will take him back again,” Dr Vitali said.

“We’re very lucky that he was almost weaned by the time he went, so he didn’t miss out on a lot of mum’s milk and he was already eating the things that a mature meerkat should eat.

“All the things are lining up that we’re going to have a good outcome, and that’s what we’re going to be pushing for.”

While referred to as a “he” by Dr Vitali, the senior vet said staff had still not confirmed the meerkat’s sex — but signs pointed to it being a boy.

“I wish it was easier to determine whether these are boys or girls but they’re really tricky at this age,” she said.

“We think it’s a boy so we’re going with a ‘he’ until further notice but we should know more in a month or so.”

The meerkat’s mother, Bamba, initially had a litter of five. But first-time meerkat mothers often struggle and Dr Vitali said staff were “ecstatic” to have one surviving kit.

And at just four weeks old the kitten has already proved itself to be hardy, bouncing back from its ordeal admirably.

“This kit is a real fighter,” Dr Vitali said.

“It was obviously very stressed last night when we got it back. But it came back and it fed and it showed the resilience of youth and has really got itself back on track quite quickly, so we’re very, very relieved.”

As police and staff figure out just how exactly the theft took place, Dr Vitali said with the open facilities needed for animals to have good welfare there was always a risk of theft or attacks from predatory birds.

“That’s something that we’re going to have to review quite carefully now that this has happened to see if we’re going to need to make changes,” she said.

“We’ll be looking at what sort of options we have over the coming days, it’s very early days yet and our prime concern at the moment is making sure the kit’s ok and getting him back to his family.”