It’s one small step for a meerkat, but one giant leap for mongoose kind.
A new device at Werribee Open Range Zoo, called a podoscope, is enabling keepers to innovatively monitor the health and welfare of its Slender-tailed meerkats.
The device is designed to proactively monitor the foot health of the highly active meerkats, while also providing them with the choice to voluntarily participate in routine checks.
The podoscope is a wooden box-shaped device, that allows for insertion of a transparent slide at the top. Keepers place a camera inside the box that enables them to get a clear view of the underside of the meerkats’ feet. Just before stepping onto it, the meerkats also voluntarily step into a cleansing, restorative footbath.
African River Trail keeper Eliza Baker said monitoring the condition of the meerkats’ toe pads and webbing is important.
“Meerkats naturally like to live in habitats with an abundance of sand and rough substrates, which can be quite course and abrasive to their feet,” Ms Baker said.
“They use their feet every single day to burrow or forage for food.
“The podoscope allows us to monitor the health of their paws to identify and proactively treat any health issues and substantially reduce the need for veterinary procedures under anesthetic.”
To help develop the meerkats’ confidence to use the device, they participated in a training program with their keepers.
The program is supported by positive reinforcement which helps to build an enduring and trusting bond
between the keepers and individual animals.
Ms Baker said there is one ingredient that regularly increases participation during training sessions.
“Our meerkats are very food oriented. A handful of mealworms always works wonders,” she said.
Meerkats are extremely social animals that are identified by their brown-striped coat and small faces that have beady eyes surrounded by dark patches. The 50-centimetre-long mammals are native to the deserts and grasslands of Africa and live together in burrows, which allows them to escape the harsh African heat.
Zoos Victoria and Werribee Open Range Zoo visitors are reminded that all tickets must be pre-booked online at zoo.org.au.
Zoos Victoria Members no longer need to book but are required to scan their Membership card to gain
entry.
