MECHANICAL MEERKAT (left and below)
The mechanical meerkat is a device designed to provide enrichment to a lion enclosure. The original design would extend a model up from a concrete mound to entice a lion to engage the model. If the lion contacted the model before it retracted then a food reword was deposited at the base of the mound. The devise operated in both a manual training mode and an automatic activity mode. The devise provides both animal stimulation and spectator entertainment.