Freezing in the Free State

I received this amazing photo I'd like to share with you. It was taken at Swartbees – Harrismith. It was so freezing outside and inside there was this warm fire that could not be resisted, by someone who sneaked in to enjoy its warmth.

Take a look - it's to sweet for words !!!

My guess is that Swartbees is the name of a private farm or perhaps a public lodging at/near the village of Harrismith.

From the little I know of African geography, Harrismith is not in the Kalahari Desert, but still in and area that could be quite dry and have native meerkats. Temperatures can get down to near freezing in the winter season.  I have talked with other people living in this area who have meerkats as semi-pets, that is, the meerkats wander in and out of their house, seem to enjoy spending some time in the company of humans, go out to forage for their own food, etc.

We are doing some work to help out the Durban Zoo in South Africa, and as an example of how casually meerkats can be treated in South Africa -- they are native, after all
--a female meerkat at the Durban Zoo was beat up by the dominant female, so the keeper took her home with him until he could find her another home.

It is one heck of an interesting picture!

Gene Gaines
The Meerkat Society