African meerkats are enjoying lockdown while a Thai zoo remains closed due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Footage shows the energetic mammals playing together inside their enclosure in Chiang Mai Night Safari, Thailand on May 12.

The park has been closed to visitors due to coronavirus restrictions so the family of 19 meerkats took over the place enjoying their time together.

Zoo board member Benjaphon Nakprasert said the zoo will have to remain shut down during the current lockdown caused by a third wave of infections.

He said: ‘Despite the lower rate of Covid-19 infection in our area we need to remain closed until the situation improves. It’s difficult but we try our best to make the animals in our zoo happy.’

Benjaphon added that animal lovers could still watch the cute meerkats through an online program filmed weekly where audiences could receive gifts from the zoo.

Meerkats are small mongooses mostly found in southern Africa. They are sociable and energetic mammals that move constantly as they have to monitor predators in the wild.

Thailand recorded 2,256 new Covid-19 cases today (May 14) and 30 deaths, taking the total number of infections recording since the pandemic began to 96,050 with 548 dead.