Through the dedicated efforts of the wildlife experts and a kind pilot, Ungulungu was able to return to his natural habitat in the Kalahari.
Limpopo, South Africa (15 September 2024) – An adorable little meerkat named Ungulungu (meaning Meerkat in Zulu), was recently rescued from the illegal wildlife pet trade by Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation (WHWF) in Limpopo.
One-year-old Ungulungu was heavily human imprinted and needed to be weaned from human contact, while still keeping the delicate balance in managing his stress responses.
This meant that Ungulungu required focused care for about six hours per day on him alone. Due to the lack of feeding and health history, WHWF conducted a basic health examination, treated him for parasites, and gradually switched him to a costly, balanced food, serving as a transition from a human-fed diet to a nature-fed one, WHWF explained.
“To get him used to the new food, it was liquidized, with some insects thrown in after the fact so that when he dug them out, he got used to the soft food taste.
“Gradually less and less water was added, and within about five days he had completely transitioned to the balanced dry food. Hot water bottles, his soft and heat lamps kept him comfortable on cold Limpopo nights.”
Meerkats are social animals and need a lot of care to be properly rehabilitated, and the decision was made to send Ungulungu home to the Kalahari to a specialist meerkat rehabilitation facility. Full rehabilitation can take up to two years.
According to WHWF, the person who bought him as a pet, in effect, stole more than two years of his wildlife.
Paul Oxton, Founder/CEO of Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation, said:
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“Every animal’s life matters because every animal has a part to play in a balanced ecology. Meerkats belong in the Kalahari. They are not pets.”
The Bateleurs, a conservation group, quickly agreed to help Ungulungu and South African pilot Karl Jensen volunteered to fly him.
Ungulungu was packed with everything he needed, including a hot water bottle and his favourite toy as he boarded the plane to start his journey home.
He was then handed over to Solid Earth Meerkat Rehab and Rescue for further care and rewilding.
“Meerkats get a raw deal because of their cuteness. The wild populations are decimated by the illegal pet trade. Being social animals, they become incredibly stressed when not with a mob, and can start self-mutilating – biting their tails or feet off.
“We needed to get Ungulungu with his own kind asap, to give him the best opportunity at a free and wild life”, said Carina Crayton, Co-Founder Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation.
The cute passenger coped well with flying, is now on his way to the next stage of his life, and is integrating well with the others.
Ungulungu is already claiming a mob (a family group of meerkats) as his own, showing aggression towards humans coming too close, and also appears to have found a love interest too!
Sources: Wild Heart Wildlife Foundation (WHWF)
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