This past year I have tragically lost my two dearest companions -- my furry family.  I have been privileged to share the lives of these two wonderful animals.  It was a truly unique experience as they were not domestic animals, but rather meerkats -- animals that are native to the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.  I raised them from the time they were approximately two weeks old and shared their lives as a member of their little troop.  I was the matriarch - the one they looked to for safety and guidance.  Now that they have both passed on, I feel hollow inside.  My house is not the haven it was -- the place I rushed home to, so that I could be with Timon and Timona -- the place that I had adapted to suit their natural behaviour.  They had the run of the house plus the garden outside.  They loved to hunt for bugs and worms during the summer, and loved to bask under a heat lamp in winter.   They shared my food, my bed and my life.  



Timon died of liver cancer very suddenly on February 11, at the age of 11 1/2 years. His life-long companion Timona went into a depression for awhile after his death, as did I.  We both took comfort in each other's presence.  Timona became ill in early July;  an x-ray revealed nothing;  an ultrasound indicated that she had tumours on her pancreas.  She did not respond to treatment and stopped eating.  I released her from pain on August 1st. She was 12 years old - a good age for a little meerkat.



Over the years they were with me, they gave me such pleasure and comfort.  Their antics were numerous -- when they were young they raced around the house, wrestling each other, tormenting my elderly cat, pulling the insulation out of the stove and the stuffing out of the couch.  Their favourite spot was on the window ledges surveying the world around my farm.  They gave their alarm calls when sightings of coyote or fox were made;  a different call for deer; another one for hawks;  another one for rabbits; another serious bark for stray dogs or cats.  Growls when encountering raccoons.  When outside, they favoured being near one of the several round sonotube tunnels I provided, so that they could scoot inside if need be.  They hated visitors and would have bitten my friends if I had allowed them to.  



Although they are supposed to be carnivores, they loved exotic foods like shrimp, mangos and pasta, along with fruits and vegetables.  They preferred meat to be raw, but were not adverse to stealing my food.  Dog chow and canned pet food were not acceptable, although they would steal the cat's special chow.   They both got very excited at the idea of food coming, vocalizing and waiting impatiently for it to be offered to them.  They were also extremely fussy (unlike their wild cousins who will eat anything they can). 



Timon adored giant mealworms and we did a little testing on his cognitive ability to see if he could determine which container had more and which had less.  After one or two tries, he always went directly to the container having more.  Timona suffered from a delicate stomach and could not tolerate the mealworms.  



I used to give them cardboard boxes to climb in and out of; and they very cleverly would move a particular box on top of the heating vent, climb inside and have a toasty warm place in winter in which to nap.  



So many memories;  these are but a few of the joys they provided, and which I now miss so very much.