Keeping warm is simples! Cute meerkats huddle up under a heat lamp to beat the British winter

By Luke Garratt

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Despite the British weather heating up over the past few days, it seems it is still too cold for the meerkats in West Midlands Safari Park, who found they had to huddle under a heat lamp to beat the cold winter weather.

The pictures were caught by a visitor to the park, Barbara Arthur, 60, who said: 'It was a bitterly cold day, and it kept raining as well. The poor things were obviously freezing - they stayed under the heat lamp all day.

'They looked to be dancing as they bobbed about, snuggling up to each other to try and warm up.'

Professor Tim Clutton-Brock of the University of Cambridge, a meerkat expert, said: 'Wild meerkats live in the Kalahari Desert, where it is very hot in the summer. In the winter the temperature drops down to as low as minus five celsius in the mornings.

'Meerkats live in burrows and their dens are well over a metre deep. This helps to shade them from the sun in the summer and protect them from the cold in the winter.

'During hot weather they are only active at night and they stay inside their burrows during the day. In winter they wake up early in the morning and sun themselves for half an hour, allowing the sun to warm their stomachs'

The meerkats in their enclosure at West Midlands Safari Park all huddled under the same small heat lamp in order to keep warm in the cold British winter weather. A Cambridge University professor said meerkats in their natural desert habitat usually bask in the sun after a chilly night to warm up

The meerkats in their enclosure at West Midlands Safari Park all huddled under the same small heat lamp in order to keep warm in the cold British winter weather. A Cambridge University professor said meerkats in their natural desert habitat usually bask in the sun after a chilly night to warm up

Barbara Arthur, 60, from Nuneaton captured the moment these meerkats in Britain had to huddle together under a heat lamp to stay warm. The meerkats are used to the cold weather in a way, as the nights in their harsh desert homes can drop below freezing, despite very hot temperatures during the day

Barbara Arthur, 60, from Nuneaton captured the moment these meerkats in Britain had to huddle together under a heat lamp to stay warm. The meerkats are used to the cold weather in a way, as the nights in their harsh desert homes can drop below freezing, despite very hot temperatures during the day

West Midlands Safari Park is a large park that features several exotic and endangered animals
The park is not just a visitor attraction, also featuring as a habitat, home, and conservation area for many young and rare animals.

West Midlands Safari Park is a large park that features several exotic and endangered animals. The park is not just a visitor attraction, also featuring as a habitat, home, and conservation area for many young and rare animals, as well as a veterinary service for larger animals in need of care (Left: White Tiger after a foot operation, right: A baby giraffe standing beside its mother)

Other animals who wouldn't usually see cold weather revel in the novelty, like these young lion cubs that are seen frolicking in heavy snow

Other animals who wouldn't usually see cold weather revel in the novelty, like these young lion cubs that are seen frolicking in heavy snow


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