Meerkats have a ball!

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have donated a large ball pool filled with colourful plastic balls to the family of meerkats at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo, as part of the Zoo’s enrichment programme.

Keepers will fill the large, wooden pool with a selection of balls in the colours of People’s Postcode Lottery: yellow, blue, green and red, for the meerkats to play with. Keepers will also place grubs amongst the balls to encourage the meerkats’ natural foraging behaviour, as they leap excitedly between the balls to try find the food.

Alison Maclean, Carnivore and Giant Panda Team Leader, said: “We are grateful that as part of the ongoing support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, we are able to provide our animals with exciting enrichment, such as this ball pool. Enrichment plays an important role in the lives of the animals at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo, providing extra stimulation which helps stimulate natural, species-typical behaviour. The meerkats will love jumping in and out of the ball pool and searching amongst the balls for tasty treats.”

Barbara Smith, Acting Chief Executive of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), said: “As a conservation charity which receives no government funding we are grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for their continued support. Players have been instrumental in funding our various conservations projects, as well as our enrichment programmes, which ensures the best possible care and wellbeing for the animals in our collections.”

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have so far awarded RZSS over half a million pounds since 2014. The funding has contributed to RZSS’s conservation work in Scotland and in over 20 countries internationally, as well as RZSS Edinburgh Zoo and sister site RZSS Highland Wildlife’s Park’s animal enrichment programmes. As part of this, players have previously provided the baby chimpanzee, Velu, with birthday treats, as well as an enormous play ball for the polar bears at RZSS Highland Wildlife Park. 

Clara Govier, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “We are delighted that players of People’s Postcode Lottery have donated the ball pool and colourful balls to the family of meerkats at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo. Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have so far raised over half a million pounds for RZSS, helping support the animals at both RZSS Edinburgh Zoo and RZSS Highland Wildlife Park, as well as their conservation work here in Scotland and around the world.”

RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has a dedicated enrichment team that integrates five different types of enrichment into the animals’ lives, including environmental, habitat, sensory, food and social enrichment. Visitors can also donate special animal-friendly toys to the Zoo, via the Zoo’s Amazon wishlist: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/registry/wishlist/1NE1L5UV462AL  

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