Meerkat family killed after tunnel collapses in heavy rain at wildlife park

Noora Mykkanen | Senior Live News reporter Published August 25, 2026 6:30pm Updated August 25, 2026 6:30pm The mob of meerkats led by matriarch called Big Mama died in the tunnel accident (Picture: Facebook/Tropical Birdland) Popular meerkats have died at a Leicestershire wildlife attraction after a tunnel collapsed on the animals. The meerkats living at Tropical Birdland in Desford became trapped under mud and rubble when the tunnel caved in on them. Led by the matriarch called Big Mama, the mob had been busy digging for a new underground chamber, the family zoo said. The mob were ‘very well practised’ in digging tunnels under the watchful eye of Big Mama, herself an ‘experienced mother.’ But a tragedy struck this week when the ground collapsed on the unsuspecting animals, burying them un