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A video shows a family of 16 meerkats settling in well to their new home – a £25,000 state-of-the-art enclosure in Waltham Abbey.

The creatures usual desert habitat has been recreated in Lee Valley Park Farm in Stubbins Hall Lane.

Alpha male Elvis and alpha female Doris explored their new home alongside their 14 offspring, which are all named after musical legends, in front of excited guests and Mayor of Waltham Abbey Cllr Ann Mitchell who opened the enclosure on Saturday.

The new area, which was built over the winter period when the farm was closed, sports mounds of sand, curved logs, trees, tunnels and a heated inside den for the group who would have experienced a similar environment in South Africa.

Information sound boards and glass walls dividing the public sandpit from the meerkats also allow visitors to get up close to the members of the mongoose and ferret family.

The average lifespan of a wild meerkat is eight years but as the family, who are expected to welcome a third litter at Easter, were born in the United Kingdom and raised in captivity, they’re likely to live until the age of 15.

Duty manager and meerkat keeper Kate Chaplin said: “the new enclosure is absolutely fantastic.

“The glass dividers allow the public to get up close and personal with the meerkat family.

“We feed them twice a day, they snack on fruit and mealworms and have an evening meal of one chick or mouse each.

“Each meerkat has its own personality and they’re very smart.

“Despite being in the enclosure they still stand on their hind legs to keep watch and warn the group if a bird or an airplane is coming over.

“They’re a great bunch and the enclosure, which cost the farm £25,000 after the instalment of sound boards and glass panels, is truly amazing.”