"Meerkat Love" - Rafiki gives his girl, Kendi, a special meerkat nuzzle.
Photo credit: Evelyn Spiess

Greetings from all of us at Fellow Earthlings' Wildlife Center! As winter descends upon our magnificent high desert, we have been reflecting on our very "eventful" year. Despite all the natural disasters our planet has recently experienced, and particularly those that took place right here in our own little valley, we are counting our blessings: All our precious animals are healthy and happy and the Center continues to care for what we think are the most endearing creatures on earth - meerkats!

It's the season for being thankful. We want to express gratitude to our special adoptive parents who sent their love, best wishes, and donations after the devastating fire in June. As many of you know, we came frighteningly close to losing the Center when a fire storm swept through Morongo Valley. We were able to safely evacuate the animals as the valiant fire fighters worked tirelessly to save our sanctuary. We had just caught our breath and begun repairs on the damaged structures when the rains came. The fire left the hillsides around the Center bare and vulnerable. The unprecedented rain caused rivers of water to flood the lower acreage and our workshop with 3 feet of water. We used a "trash" pump to divert much of the water, but the sheer volume of run off swamped our workshop, tools, and equipment.

The River runs through it... Photo credit: Pam Bennett-Wallberg

Phil Wallberg battling the flood Photo credit: Pam Bennett-Wallberg

Pam Bennett-Wallberg tries to divert water from the workshop

Bara, Jengo and Nalo on "storm watch" from the safety and warmth of their basket
Photo credit: Denise Robertson

Happily, it seems the worst is over. Now, we can get back to repairing the damage from the fire and flood and resume work on the new meerkat enclosures!

• Fellow Earthlings' Wildlife Center was featured in Cynthia Fontayne's TRAVEL TAKES, a prestigious online travel newsletter that was sent to over 1,000 journalists around the world.
• The major motion picture "June Bug" debuted in theatres across the country and featured meerkat memorabilia loaned to the production crew from the Center.
• The nurses from Lewistown Hospital in Pennsylvania chose our meerkat tee shirts to be part of their uniforms. All proceeds from the sale of the shirts help pay for the meerkats' Bug Habit. Thanks so much!

• The Hi-Desert Star newspaper published an article that featured Pam's spring trip to southern Africa's glorious Kalahari Desert.
• Pam and volunteer, Denise Robertson, participated in the annual Animal Samaritans S.P.C.A. fundraiser in Palm Desert, California. The event raised money to help domestic animals of the surrounding desert communities.

Pam and Denise help raise money for domestic animals in need.
Photo Credit: Kate Porter

• Cody Gerard and his mother, Jani Aronow, traveled from New York to present the meerkats with a very special gift. The meerkats thank you!

Cody Gerard and his new friend Rafiki.
Photo Credit: Jani Aronow

• We were delighted to introduce our custom designed meerkat poster on the Merchandise Page of our web site. Many thanks to our "angel" graphic artist, Kristen Perry, who donated her talent for the project! As with our tee shirts and books, all proceeds from the sale of the poster go directly to caring for the meerkats. Thank you so much, Kristen!
• We had our bi-annual "toy fest" for the meerkats thanks to donations throughout the year from our adoptive parents.

Meerkat's Delight
Photo credit: Denise Robertson

• We were honored to host 5 senior staff members from the Los Angeles Zoo's Animal Care Department. We sat in the enclosures with the meerkats and exchanged valuable information about diet, enrichment, and how to ensure a long, healthy, and fulfilling life for meerkats in captivity.
• Linda York, the esteemed director of the Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center, visited with three of her wonderful volunteers. We commend their tireless commitment to preserving the bird species of our precious desert.

• Microsoft Giving Campaign - The animals at the Center are the grateful recipients of a matching funds program from Microsoft employees. Thank you, thank you!
• Kroger Foods - Community Contribution Program. We qualified for a program that helps the animals enormously. Every time a person buys groceries the meerkats receive a contribution! To learn more about this terrific program, please click here.
• One of our angelic donors presented us with a very special gift of stock donated in the Center's name. We hope it will increase in value and allow us to fund a future project at the Center: We'd like to turn the Wheel Cottage into a multi-functional building for the visitors and volunteers. Big thanks to our Angel in Trinidad, California!
• Another of our wonderful adoptive parents nominated us for a grant from the Target Corporation where she holds an executive position. We recently received a check from Target which enabled us to continue our fire/flood repair work and to further help with the new meerkat enclosures. Our heartfelt thanks to our Angel in Plymouth, Minnesota.

After the temporary delay due to the fire and flood, we have resumed work on the new meerkat enclosures. We finished laying the galvanized mesh floor, rented a backhoe to fill the enclosures with hard substrate that the meerkats will use to dig burrows, set the large boulders on cement platforms to prevent the meerkats from undermining them, and set numerous cement pilings to support the walls and roof. The square footage of each enclosure is almost double the size of the main cottage at the Center. We look forward to the "house-warming" party when the meerkats are in their new "digs."

During Pam's last trip to Africa this spring, she asked her guide, Dantes Liebenberg from Kalahari Tours and Travel, to send word of any wild meerkat sightings during his forays into the remote areas of the Kalahari Desert. We recently received his first "dispatch" from the Kalahari and wanted to share it with you.

Dantes writes:

"It has been a very busy month in the Kalahari and we were able to see many meerkats in the Kagalagadi Transfrontier Park. The southern region around the Auob River is teeming with meerkat families. Mom and dad stand "on guard" (sometimes from the top of bushes!) while the youngsters frolic about the savannah. They have been very active and playful and are not frightened of the vehicles especially at Houmoed, Munro, and Auchterlonie.

We have been lucky to see meerkat groups of up to fifteen individuals in the Northern Region, as well. Although there usually is not much game in the area near Gharaghab, we managed to see meerkats in the morning and afternoon. At this remote spot they are not used to vehicles, so they quickly ran off to the safety of their burrows."

We close this newsletter with happy hearts. Adversity brings special gifts. Thank you for your phone calls, letters, and astonishingly generous donations. We marvel at how blessed we are to have you in our "mob." You each play a vital role in helping us continue our work at the Center. We are tremendously grateful to you.

Photo credit: Denise Robertson

"Who can believe that there is no soul behind those luminous eyes!"
Theophile Gautier