The excitement at the National Zoo’s meerkat exhibit was palpable. Sadie the meerkat mama darted back and forth between her publicly viewable habitat and an area “backstage,” her three pups close behind. Frankie the papa meerkat darted about, too, at times scurrying to the top of a log to stand watch. Think Timon the meerkat from “The Lion King.”

It was feeding time.

Sadie and Frankie’s pups are the first meerkat births at the National Zoo in 16 years, and like all zoo births, they’re cause for celebration. Just as exciting was the birth a few weeks later of a western lowland gorilla, a critically endangered species. The baby girl – named Zahra in a zoo website poll – earns her share of oohs and aahs as she cuddles with mama Calaya in the Great Ape House.

This spring, we also welcomed baby black-footed ferrets, Panamanian golden frogs, and Andean bear cubs. I say “we” because the National Zoo is basically my backyard – close enough to hear the lions roar. And it’s not hard to get wrapped up in the zoo’s highs and lows. Nearly three years ago, during the pandemic shutdown, I wrote about the zoo’s surprise baby panda, called Xiao Qi Ji – “little miracle” – because of his mother’s advanced age.

Now we’re counting down to the departure of our panda family to China later this year, per a long-standing agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association. National Zoo spokesperson Jennifer Zoon says in an email that the plan holds, but, she adds, “it’s our goal to have giant pandas ... and continue our conservation research.”

I’m sticking with the happy side of zoo life, a source of wonder and joy in a divisive time. Or as Timon the meerkat sang in “The Lion King” – no worries.