Watch a Wildlife Photographer Get Mobbed by an Adorable Group of Meerkats

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A post shared by Nick Kleer (@nickkleer)

South African wildlife photographer and conservationist Nick Kleer has encountered many majestic animals throughout his career. But he seems to have formed a special bond with some adorable and amusing meerkats. And recently, one of his more entertaining interactions with the curious creatures has gone viral because it’s just so darn endearing. What’s more, the clip shows just how good the man is at his job.

A Twitter user named Jess first shared the video in April, noting with a hint of amusement that “when you’re a wildlife photographer, the goal is to blend in with your surroundings, so that you don’t scare off the animals.” And if blending in is really the main goal, then Kreer has definitely done his job. To be clear, he understood the assignment.

The humorous clip shows Kleer huddled on the ground with his camera while a meerkat stands on top of his head. Pretty soon, a whole mob of the fuzzy creatures starts to swarm the stealthy photographer. Far from being scared or put off by the human invading their natural habitat, they seem to be completely comfortable and interact with him as if he were a part of the natural landscape. They even use him as high ground to get a better vantage point of their surroundings. The video could easily be an adorable behind-the-scenes clip of National Geographic footage or even a small snippet of a blooper reel.

This is far from Kleer’s first interaction with the native South African mammal. The wildlife photographer has posted several other photos and clips of himself with his furry meerkat friends, and it seems they have formed quite a bond over their time spent together.

“As you can tell I got quite close to these incredible little creatures,” Kleer shared in an Instagram post. “An experience that I will not forget and an absolute privilege to get to know these little ones a bit better.” In another, he even called them the “cutest creatures on the planet.” And between his candid clips of them wrestling, napping, exploring, and just being plain all-around adorable, I’m pretty sure he’s convinced the whole internet as well.

South African conservationist and wildlife photographer Nick Kleer has recently gone viral for this adorable interaction with a mob of meerkats.

When you're a wildlife photographer, the goal is to blend in with your surroundings, so that you don't scare off the animals 😂

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credit: pets_usa pic.twitter.com/uLpEiJWA95

— Jess 🌻 (@jessi_asli) April 8, 2022