This makes me mad. Why didn't the parents stop their child from reaching into the exhibit. These are WILD animals no matter what Disney says. Now no one else can see these animals because some parents weren't paying attention to their child.
Rabies tests on zoo's meerkats come back negative
A family of five Minnesota Zoo meerkats destroyed after a girl was bitten did not have rabies after all, a zoo official said today.
Bob Von Sternberg and Chao Xoing, Star Tribune
A family of five Minnesota Zoo meerkats destroyed after a girl was bitten did not have rabies after all, a zoo official said today.
The 9-year-old girl, who has not been identified, was bitten Wednesday when she reached her hand into the animals' exhibit.
The meerkats -- two mates and their three offspring born this spring -- had been vaccinated for rabies but were killed because the girl's parents didn't want her to have to undergo a series of rabies shots, said zoo collections manager Tony Fisher.
State health department rules mandate that exotic animals must be tested for rabies if a bite victim is not treated, said department spokesman Doug Schultz. "And the only way to test the animal is to put it down," he said.
Zoo spokeswoman Kelly Lessard said the animals' destruction was necessary "even though we were 99 percent sure they didn't have rabies. We had to protect the child."
Meerkats are a highly social relative of the mongoose and are native to the African desert. They were popularized in the Disney animated movie "The Lion King" and have been on display at the zoo for about four years.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg, who runs what she calls "a retirement home" for meerkats in the California desert, said the animals "are not at all aggressive. People go into our enclosure all the time, and never in 20 years has anyone been bitten."
Although meerkats are known to carry rabies in the wild, they are routinely vaccinated against the disease when placed in captivity, she said.
"This is a tragedy, one of the saddest things I've heard of in a long time," said Bennett-Wallberg, who attended the grand opening of the Minnesota Zoo meerkat exhibit in 2001.
A 1994 study of meerkats found that only 10 documented cases of rabies-infected meerkats attacking humans or domestic animals in the previous decade.
The girl had climbed atop 3 feet of rock work and reached over a 4-foot glass barrier Wednesday afternoon when she was bitten, said zoo collections manager Tony Fisher said. The rock work is designed to allow kids to climb up for a better view, he said.
Zoo staff members were notified soon after the incident. The exhibit was closed until crews can lower the rock work to prevent anyone else from reaching over the glass, Fisher said.
A second group of meerkats will be moved from an indoor exhibit to the outdoor one when the modifications are complete, a process that should takje a week or two, Lessard said.
The entire family of meerkats was destroyed because it is unknown which one bit the girl, Fisher said, adding there is little to no chance that the animals carried the disease.
Meerkats are curious, bold animals, traits that make them highly popular at zoos, Fisher said, but they are still wild. "We handle them with thick leather gloves," he said. "They're not pets."
Incidents of visitors trying to pet animals or even scaling barriers for a closer view are not uncommon, he said.
Rabies tests on zoo's meerkats come back negative
A family of five Minnesota Zoo meerkats destroyed after a girl was bitten did not have rabies after all, a zoo official said today.
Bob Von Sternberg and Chao Xoing, Star Tribune
A family of five Minnesota Zoo meerkats destroyed after a girl was bitten did not have rabies after all, a zoo official said today.
The 9-year-old girl, who has not been identified, was bitten Wednesday when she reached her hand into the animals' exhibit.
The meerkats -- two mates and their three offspring born this spring -- had been vaccinated for rabies but were killed because the girl's parents didn't want her to have to undergo a series of rabies shots, said zoo collections manager Tony Fisher.
State health department rules mandate that exotic animals must be tested for rabies if a bite victim is not treated, said department spokesman Doug Schultz. "And the only way to test the animal is to put it down," he said.
Zoo spokeswoman Kelly Lessard said the animals' destruction was necessary "even though we were 99 percent sure they didn't have rabies. We had to protect the child."
Meerkats are a highly social relative of the mongoose and are native to the African desert. They were popularized in the Disney animated movie "The Lion King" and have been on display at the zoo for about four years.
Pam Bennett-Wallberg, who runs what she calls "a retirement home" for meerkats in the California desert, said the animals "are not at all aggressive. People go into our enclosure all the time, and never in 20 years has anyone been bitten."
Although meerkats are known to carry rabies in the wild, they are routinely vaccinated against the disease when placed in captivity, she said.
"This is a tragedy, one of the saddest things I've heard of in a long time," said Bennett-Wallberg, who attended the grand opening of the Minnesota Zoo meerkat exhibit in 2001.
A 1994 study of meerkats found that only 10 documented cases of rabies-infected meerkats attacking humans or domestic animals in the previous decade.
The girl had climbed atop 3 feet of rock work and reached over a 4-foot glass barrier Wednesday afternoon when she was bitten, said zoo collections manager Tony Fisher said. The rock work is designed to allow kids to climb up for a better view, he said.
Zoo staff members were notified soon after the incident. The exhibit was closed until crews can lower the rock work to prevent anyone else from reaching over the glass, Fisher said.
A second group of meerkats will be moved from an indoor exhibit to the outdoor one when the modifications are complete, a process that should takje a week or two, Lessard said.
The entire family of meerkats was destroyed because it is unknown which one bit the girl, Fisher said, adding there is little to no chance that the animals carried the disease.
Meerkats are curious, bold animals, traits that make them highly popular at zoos, Fisher said, but they are still wild. "We handle them with thick leather gloves," he said. "They're not pets."
Incidents of visitors trying to pet animals or even scaling barriers for a closer view are not uncommon, he said.
).
Yeah, me too. Nobody wanted to cross Eleanor. Give me shots anyday, but please don't fling in there with my mother 
