Two meerkats rescued from Dundee street

Two meerkats have been rescued after being spotted in a Dundee street.

The Scottish SPCA managed to catch one of the animals last Friday and the second on Saturday.

The charity believes the meerkats, which were both picked up from South Road, had been kept as exotic pets before escaping or being abandoned.

Meerkats are native to deserts and grasslands of southern Africa. Both rescued animals are now in the care of Dundee's Camperdown Wildlife Park.

Ben Soutar, of the SSPCA, said: "It was certainly a very unusual rescue. I've never been called to rescue a meerkat before.

"We checked with Camperdown Wildlife Park but all their meerkats were accounted for, so it's a bit of a mystery as to where these two have come from."

The meerkats appeared to be "quite tame".

Mr Soutar said: "As with all exotic wild animals, we wouldn't recommend people keep animals like meerkats as pets as they have specialist needs that would be very hard for the average member of the public to replicate in a home environment."