5 new meerkats born at Oakland Zoo

OAKLAND, Calif. - The meerkat mob at the Oakland Zoo just got bigger.

One of the zoo's slender-tailed meerkats, named Sandy, recently gave birth to a litter with five pups, the zoo said Wednesday.

A video shared by the zoo shows the pups cuddling around their mother Sandy or burrowing through the ground. 

Sandy gave birth to her five pups sometime in March, but it wasn't until recently that the quintet started to emerge from the tunnels "ready to explore."

Oakland Zoo officials said the father's name is Chipe.

"Father Chipe, mom Sandy, and siblings are doing a great job of keeping the pups warm and dry during our recent stormy weather," Oakland Zoo said on social media.