’Twas the month before Christmas and inside Kids’ Zone,
The meerkats received a surprise of their own;
A stocking was hung on the rock wall with care,
But the one on the ground was a different affair!
The keepers had filled it with fat mealworm treats –
(a favorite food for all meerkats to eat)
Then stuffed it with wiffle balls in mealworm-flavor
(encouraging digging, a meerkat behavior.)
The stocking was placed on the sand with a grin,
Then the keepers backed off for the fun to begin.
First one meerkat, then two, sniffed the fuzzy red stocking,
Then all of the mob to the mealworms came flocking.
They nibbled, they gobbled, they dug and they burrowed,
They scrambled around ‘til the sand was all furrowed.
One climbed right inside it, and one climbed on top
While a another eyed the stocking up high on the rock.
Out flew all the balls, and the stocking toe danced
As around it more meerkats kept sniffing, entranced.
But at last it was over. The mealworms were eaten.
One stocking still hung on the rock wall, unbeaten.
And as the two keepers picked up all the mess
of the stocking surprise, one was heard to confess:
“We’ve done a good deed for those meerkats today.
I wish EVERYONE such a fun holiday!”
AT HOME: Treat your own pet for the holidays, with some tips from our keepers.
