Visitors at Dudley Zoo get to name 20 exotic animals

Dudley Zoo want customers to name 13 of their meerkats which currently do not have a name. Credit: Dudley Zoo

Visitors at Dudley Zoo have been given the chance to name over 20 animals, made up of Chilean flamingos and meerkats.

The zoo realised that 18 of their Chilean flamingo flock and 13 of their meerkat gang are currently without an official name - only identification numbers.

Marketing Manager, Andrea Hales, said:

The zoo state that the new names will be a part of unique adoptions ahead of Christmas.

All the chosen adoption names will be added to the official records by DZG Registrar and Research Co-ordinator, Dr David Beeston, who manages the zoo’s web-based ZIMS (Zoological Information Management System) records and the name will remain with the individual animal for its entire lifetime.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Chilean flamingo is described as "near threatened" in the wild, whilst the meerkat is ranked as "least concern" - meaning the animal's population in the wild is healthy.