Busy Christmas for Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium

Canberra's National Zoo and Aquarium had one of its busiest days in years yesterday, according to staff.

The Canberra Times reported Zoo Director Trent Russell as saying numbers had been steadily increasing over the past 12 months. However, yesterday's attendance was above expectations.

Russell explained "this week generally is usually one of the biggest weeks of the year for us but today was one of the biggest."

More than 1,200 people visited the zoo on Lady Denman Drive, compared to about 800 on the same day last year.

Russell said the increased figures were due in part to three entertaining additions, the zoo's new meerkats. The three females have been housed at the zoo since September, but the public has only been able to see them for the past few weeks.

Wildlife supervisor Bec Scott said the meerkats had been brought from Auckland in August, spending a month in quarantine at Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo before moving to Canberra.

The meerkat exhibit was a first for the zoo and had caused some excitement among visitors.

"Meerkats are very popular animals at the zoo because they're always busy," explained Scott, adding "we get lots of crowds. It's one of those exhibits that you could spend a long time looking at."

Scott said the visitors also enjoyed a certain level of interaction with the animals.