Yorkshire Wildlife Park welcomes new meerkat to Meerkat Manor
Hagrid, a 16-month-old male meerkat, has recently arrived at Yorkshire Wildlife Park and is settling in well. He is hoped to form a successful breeding pair with female Fluffy, with the pair potentially starting their own meerkat mob in the future.
07 October 2026
Hagrid, a 16-month-old male, has just arrived at the award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park where it is hoped he will form a successful breeding pair with female Fluffy, named after another character from the blockbuster wizarding books and films.
“Hagrid has settled in well since arriving here and we are hoping their magical names will help spark a strong bond and, in time, they will become a successful breeding pair,” said Charlotte McDonald, Director of Animals, at the park, the UK’s No. 1 walk through wildlife attraction.
“It is great to see Hagrid already displaying natural behaviours such as scent marking and taking on sentry duty, which are all great signs that he is comfortable in his new surroundings.
“Hopefully in the future they will be the founders of their own meerkat mob at the Park”.
The 175-acre park, near Doncaster, is home to a group of meerkats – collectively known as a mob - who live in the purpose built Meerkat Manor.
Native to the arid regions of southern Africa, meerkats are highly social animals, typically living in close-knit family groups where everyone has a role to play. Their famous pose is an upright sentry position where an individual will take its turn to watch for danger while the rest of the group forage or care for youngsters.
Hagrid and Fluffy will add an extra touch of magic to the park’s Halloween celebrations from October 24 to November 1 with a spooky pirate theme featuring a Trick or Treat trail, fairground rides, costumed characters and plenty of surprises in the woodland walk.
“We're looking forward to putting on our annual Halloween event and welcoming new and returning guests to enjoy the entertainment,” said park CEO John Minion. “The pirate theme will bring something different to the trail this year, with plenty of spooky surprises to discover along the way.
“It will definitely be a week filled with the usual family fun and spooky activities.”
Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which puts conservation at the heart of all its activities, offers visitors a mesmerising walk-through experience, coming almost face to face with some of the world's most beautiful and at-risk species, including Polar Bears, Black Rhinos, Giraffes and African Painted Dogs.
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