Meerkat comes in from the cold

Meet Stitch - he thinks he's a dog but he doesn't like the cold. The African meerkat, who lives at Shropshire bird centre Becks Bird Barn, has had to be extra adventurous to get through the current cold snap.

Stitch was born to into a family of the animals who live at the shop at Ellerdine, near Crudgington, in the summer.

Check out our photo gallery above and watch our Stitch video here

He had to be rescued by staff when his relatives rejected him and has been raised by hand into a model meerkat. Now he can be petted by people, taken for walks and mix with other animals.

Usually the animals make terrible pets who do not like human contact - so Stitch is unique.

As the baby of a meerkat who was not the Alpha female in the nest, he would have been killed by the rest of the family if he was not taken out.

So now he cannot get through the winter, as the rest of his species do, by mixing with others and burrowing away in the ground.

It means Stitch's special talents come in particularly handy.

First off, he has been spending extra time nestled in one of his favourite spots - a converted child's toy pushchair with a special heating light on him.

And Anna Bradbury, livestock assistant at Becks, has been taking extra time out to give him the loving attention he needs. Stitch has also been getting close to fellow pets at the centre, including some of the dogs there.

Anna has even resorted to slipping Stitch's tiny lead on and taking him for short walks.

It was Rebecca Taylor, from Becks, who rescued the meerkat from his old family.

She said this year she is on the look out for a female who could potentially come and keep Stitch company.

"He is called Stitch because there were two male ones before - Richard and Stan, so Stitch is a mixture of both," she said.

Elsewhere, the keepers of some of Shropshire's other meerkats, at Walford College, near Baschurch, have been taking different special measures in the cold.

The college has employed a special underground heating system, on a thermostat, for its cute creatures, who proved a hit with the Princess Royal during her visit last year.

Rupert Hill, who looks after them, said: "They are susceptible to losing their tails from frost. We have a heater unit and they have an underground burrow system, giving some heat from the ground."

Stitch is taken outside for a walk. Pictures: Andy Cunningham

Anna Bradbury, from Becks Bird Barn, gives Stitch a cuddle.

Stitch the meerkat tries to stay warm with one of the puppies at Becks Bird Barn.

Stitch takes it easy at Becks Bird Barn.

Anna Bradbury takes Stitch for a walk.

Anna Bradbury with Stitch and a puppy.