Four meerkats killed in a fire at London zoo were all brothers, it has emerged.
Robbie, Norman, Billy and Nigel are missing and presumed dead, Director General of London Zoo, Dominic Jermey said.
Misha, a nine-year-old aardvark, also died in her sleep after suffering smoke inhalation during the blaze, a post-mortem found.
The fire broke out at around six o’clock in the morning on Saturday in the Animal Adventure section of the zoo and was quickly brought under control.
In a statement, Mr Jermey wrote: “Saturday was a long and difficult day for all of us at London Zoo. It has taken an enormous amount of behind-the-scenes work to enable us to reopen our doors so quickly - we know how important a visit to the Zoo over the festive period is for so many people.
“The efforts of staff and emergency services, and the strength of support from the public, has been humbling; I can’t find the words to express our appreciation.
“While it’s been heartening to hear the chatter of excited children back in the zoo again today, our work investigating all aspects of the fire continues.
“One important update is that our vets completed an initial post-mortem on Misha, the aardvark; they have concluded that she most likely died from smoke inhalation whilst asleep in her den.
"Sadly though, after a thorough search of the site, we must presume that our four meerkats - brothers Robbie, Norman, Billy and Nigel - have died.
"The external investigation into the fire is on-going, and it remains much too early to speculate on its cause.
"We’ve been overwhelmed by the hundreds of emails, phone calls and letters of support from all over the country - these kind and generous messages range from families offering to give up their Christmas Day to help us clean up, to offers from local builders to rebuild the enclosures for us”.
Misha was born 20 June 2007 at the Royal Burgers’ zoo in Holland and arrived to ZSL in 2008, and the four meerkat brothers were born at ZSL London zoo in 2011. The zoo said all five animals were well loved for their friendly natures.
The zoo was reopened on Christmas Eve, and investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.
