Racine Zoo announces passing of 2 slender-tailed meerkats

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The Racine Zoo shared a sad announcement Monday, the passing of two slender-tailed meerkats. 

According to the zoo, both meerkats - Jack Clay and Aero - had been experiencing age-related decline. Tests revealed that in both cases, their issues were terminal. 

The zoo says Jack Clay and Aero were both 15 years old and lived long past their species' normal life expectancy of 10 years. 

The meerkats were born at the Racine Zoo in 2008 as part of the Slender-Tailed Meerkat Species Survival Plan. 

Staff says Jack Clay and Aero were "very curious individuals" and enjoyed enrichment like puzzle feeders, tubes and other toys. But their favorite activities were natural meerkat behaviors like digging burrows, sunbathing and watching for predators on their termite mound. 

They say Jack Clay will be remembered by his keepers for the silly poses he made while sunbathing and Aero will be remembered for his ability to sniff out any snacks.

"While these two will be missed by all the Racine Zoo staff, we are also glad that they never lived a day without the other," the zoo wrote.