Meerkats: Sunflower oil & Green Clay (Bears to follow) Author Sarah Kinson

I volunteer one day a week at Birmingham Nature Centre, which is a small zoo housing a variety of exotic and endangered animals.

My work there involves the care of many animals including meerkats. I have been offering oils and other secondary compounds for self selection for some time with some interesting responses and results. The group of meerkats particularly like sunflower oil, which they lap up enthusiastically whenever I offer it by pouring on to the rocks and logs in their enclosure.

I recently offered powdered green clay to see their reaction; initially they only scratched around in the clay and rolled in it. However, recently I noticed some of the meerkats taking some of their food and dusting and rolling it in the clay before eating it. On further observation, I realized that it was only the grapes that they were dusting before eating! The only other food I have seen them roll in the clay on one other occasion was a chick; they are fed dead day old chicks as part of their diet.

I have not seen them roll or dust any other foods in the clay since other than the grapes. Therefore, they are possibly using the clay to detoxify any harmful substance on or in the grapes, such as a mycotoxin (a fungal toxin) or a pesticide. As green clay is a good detoxifier, helps aid digestion and helps eliminate internal parasites, this could be why they are utilizing it in this way.

I have also found that they like; chickweed, calendula, dried calendula flowers and dried rose buds and chamomile flowers. They love scratching about in flowers in particular!