"Harry Krause" wrote in message
. ..
Meerkats didn’t have rabies

BY DAVID HAWLEY AND MEGGEN LINDSAY
Minneapolis Pioneer Press

The five meerkats euthanized Thursday at the Minnesota Zoo tested negative
this morning for rabies, two days after one of them bit a child who
reached into their exhibit.

One of the animals bit a 9-year-old girl who had reached over a Plexiglas
barrier in an attempt to pet them.

The bite broke the girl's skin but did not result in a major injury, zoo
officials said. As a precaution, however, all five meerkats on display
were destroyed to be tested for rabies.

"It is our policy, always, to err on the side of safety," said Sue Gergen,
communications director for the zoo in Apple Valley.

Gergen said there was no way to determine which meerkat had bitten the
child, so all had to be destroyed and tested.

The child reportedly climbed up on simulated rocks to reach through a
small gap between a wall and the top of a Plexiglas window at the exhibit,
Gergen said. The area was posted with signs that told visitors to stay off
the rocks, she added.

Nonetheless, Gergen said the exhibit will be closed and evaluated for
public safety before it is reopened. The zoo has another troop of
meerkats, including some that were born in its own breeding program.

Gergen said the decision to euthanize the five animals was required after
the girl declined to undergo a six-shot series of injections for rabies.
The child's parents also do not want her treated unless it is necessary,
Gergen said.

The action also was required by Minnesota Department of Health rules,
Gergen added.

The girl and her parents were not identified.

Meerkats, which are native to arid regions in Africa, are burrowing
animals related to the mongoose. Energetic and inquisitive, they were
popularized by the hyperactive character Timon in the Disney animated film
"The Lion King." The Minnesota Zoo meerkat exhibit opened in 2001 and has
been a visitor favorite since among children.

"This was a very unfortunate thing, very sad," Gergen said. "I can't
remember the last time something like this has happened, and all of us
feel bad about it."

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twinci...s/15199813.htm


I suspect the Zoo's lawyer recommended immediate testing of the Meerkats as
a precaution to mitigate damages in the lawsuit that is certain to be filed
soon by the child's parents. Are not the rock wall and the Meerkats an
attractive nuisance and the opening large enough for a child's hand to pass
through, obvious negligence on the part of the Zoo? I suspect lawyers on
both sides are already in negotiations.

Tom G.