Meral Meerkat Loves Memphis Murals

Larry the Letter Carrier jumped into the Memphis Zoo the other day and I began telling him about popping around town to see all the murals, and he was like, whoa mate – put it in a letter so I can share with my online friends.

Hello! My name is Meral. I am a meerkat that lives in the Memphis Zoo. My family is originally from the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa which is about 8,500 miles away! My mob of meerkats enjoy living in the zoo, we have good times in and out of our burrow, which is an impressive system of various entrances and multiple rooms underground. I pride myself in being quite an urban explorer. There are tunnels all around the zoo as well as outside the zoo.  Which is how I pop out of the zoo to go look at all the Memphis murals. By way of the tunnel under Penguin Rock, or Monkey Island if you are an old timer in the zoo, they just can’t stop calling it that. It was originally built in 1936, beneath it is a large catacomb with tunnels going in various directions.  The north tunnel takes me to North Parkway.

I always like popping out of the tunnels right outside the zoo. Across the street there is a school and it is always fun when a kid sees me through a window and starts pointing and smiling and jumping up and down. Before anyone else can see me, back in the tunnel I go and head east to make my way to the murals on Summer Avenue. I love their bright bold colors! I think the hummingbirds and bees are beautiful. And I think I look pretty cool in a sombrero!

Next, I head to Broad Avenue. They have some great little shops there, but I go for the murals. So many to look at. I have to pop in and out of manholes up and down the side streets and look all around me, so I don’t miss any! I like the animal murals because they remind me of my friends back in the zoo. They always want to come with me. It is one thing seeing a little meerkat popping up and down from under the street, but could you imagine a leopard or grizzly bear? Me, they smile and wave at, but we all know people would go screaming and running if they saw a wild cat and bear on Broad Avenue!

I am off and running to the next area of murals. Meerkats are pretty fast; at top speed I can run 20 miles an hour. Running in tunnels can be tricky but to be able to take in all of the murals I want to see in a day, I have to get places fast. Some of the underground tunnels are large and clean, but others are narrower, with running water and sadly some trash. I can run, jump and scale the walls of the tunnel and if need be, I can swim, but being a desert animal, I am not as comfortable in water as other animals. There are really cool murals off Lamar Avenue. Not only does this meerkat love murals, I also like music, so I guess that is one reason why I like the one of Hank Williams, Grandpa Meerkat would say he is the best country music singer there ever was. The Muck Rock band of animals is also fun to look at. I think it is pretty incredible how large these murals are.

I just run through these tunnels under Memphis, popping up here and there taking in the sights. There are tunnels that date back to the 1800’s with large catacombs and cobblestones, there are a couple that include built in brick and concrete ledges to sit on. Unless you are a little animal like me or an official city worker you can’t see the tunnels, but you can certainly read about them. They are pretty cool! The historic neighborhood of Soulsville also has cool displays of murals. From south Memphis to downtown to uptown, there are so many murals to see. My favorites are the ones that promote community. Meerkats love community! Meerkats call their communities mobs or gangs, and we all have jobs to do such as being babysitters for the younger meerkats, being lookouts, and even teachers! I take everything I see and learn about Memphis back to the burrows to share. The young meerkats enjoy hearing about my mischiefs looking for Memphis murals.

I have a nice little trek from uptown to what is known as the Edge District. At top speed and wide underground tunnels, I can make it there in about fifteen minutes. I really enjoy scurrying around this area, there are lots of awesome murals. I like the ones that have Memphis on them. A great way to promote this wonderful city! I even found a colorful giraffe!

Another thing I like about Memphis is the trees. There are tons of trees in the midtown area of Memphis. Just for fun, I will pop out of the tunnels and run around with the squirrels. They get a little confused, but I can stand tall like they do and eat nuts too! Running around above ground I came across a sweet mural outside Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. I could smell barbecue in the air. I followed the delicious smoke aroma and wouldn’t you know there was a mural on the side of the restaurant. Memphis murals everywhere!

I then got a whiff of Italian food. I ducked back into the tunnels popping up every couple of blocks to see if I could track the smell. I popped up in an alley between two buildings. One was the restaurant, on the wall of the other building was a cool Midtown mural. Just up the street another mural or two! I love Memphis murals!

Before making my way back to the zoo, I decided to look for more murals. I found colorful paintings on a fence in an empty field. What a cool way to brighten up the area. Oops! As soon as I felt the brightness of the art, I also felt a raindrop. I need to get back to the zoo quickly! Tunnels can fill up with water pretty fast. But rain or shine, it is always a good time to pop out of the zoo and look at Memphis murals!

Remember, writing is right on! So, write a comment below.

Your friend,

Meral Meerkat

Do you remember? Where is Meral the Meerkat's family originally from? What is the original name of Penguin Rock at the zoo? What year have Memphis tunnels been dated back to?

Additional tidbits – Meerkats are intelligent mammals. They have various sounds to communicate and describe types of predators. They are good at problem solving and share their knowledge. They are extremely cute, but do not make good pets. The Memphis Zoo opened in 1906 with one bear named Natch. The Philadelphia Zoo was the first one to open in the United States, in 1874. Philadelphia was also one of the first cities to embrace graffiti and street art as a way to beautify their city (1984). Street art murals can be found in most major cities around the world. Brick Lane in London is filled with impressive murals. Memphis is an excellent place to visit to view street art. There are so many murals that celebrate the rich history of the city.

A special thank you to all of the artists that have contributed their incredible artistic vision to help beautify the city. I love Memphis and the murals make it much more special. Learn more at Urban Art Commission, Memphis Art Project, I Love Memphis, Paint Memphis.

Most mural artist can be found on Instagram, where possible I have listed artist associated with images used in the story:

Summer Avenue Murals: @art_by_cofee; @erika.rosendale; @milt1coronado

Broad Avenue Murals: @zuluPainter; @kindmindart; @pattysauces;

Lamar Avenue/Willett Street Murals: @preacherart; @muckrock; @sinned_nyc; @riaburnswilder

South Memphis, downtown, uptown Murals: @tzkey; The artwork on Roxies Grocery Store was done by Carl Scott (1955- 2023).

The Edge District Murals: @alliemounce; Chris Porter; @alex_ann_allen; Brandon Knock

Le Bonheur, Barbecue area Murals: painterlady1215 ; “Ray ‘25”

Midtown/Cooper-Young Murals: Brandon Marshall (@memphismuralworks); @toonky_berry; David D. Lynch - Artist, Illustrator, Muralist;

Crosstown Murals: @crumjay; @kongweepang