Meerkats get fluffy surrogate mother

These adorable baby meerkats snuggle up to a cuddly teddy after their mother tragically died.

Owner Steve Rowlands was worried about leaving the five orphans alone when they lost mum Anika just two days after their birth.

So the 28-year-old gave the cute critters a ten inch meerkat toy and a hot water bottle to recreate the motherly experience.



Now the furry four-inch creatures are thriving at their home in Tropical Inc in Oldbury, West Mids.

He said: "The babies are a month old now and they lost their mum just two days after they were born.

"We bought the toy to try and lessen the trauma for them and try and make things as natural as possible. We put it in with them and they just snuggled up to it like it was their mother."