Meerkats are members of the mongoose family, weighing only about two pounds and measuring around 12 inches.
The distinctive black rings around meerkats’ eyes may serve to reflect sunlight as the animals search the sky for predators.
Meerkats walk on all fours, but they also spend a great deal of time standing upright on two legs, with their long, slender tails aiding in balance.
Habitat and Diet
Native to southern Africa, primarily the Kalahari Desert, meerkats make their homes in extensive underground burrows. Their specialized, non-retractable claws aid in digging.
Meerkats are primarily carnivorous, consuming a variety of insects, including beetles, centipedes, crickets, spiders and worms, as well as eggs and small mammals and reptiles. Scorpions are another favorite part of the wild diet; meerkats are immune to scorpion venom.
Behavior and Communication
Social structure is central to meerkat life and is essential for individual survival. Meerkats live in groups called mobs. Mobs are comprised of an average of 5 to 15 members headed by an alpha male and an alpha female. Dominance hierarchies exist within the mob for both males and females.
Because of their small size, meerkats are easy targets for cats, eagles, hawks, jackals, snakes and other predators. As a result, there is always one mob member acting as a sentry, watching the sky and the landscape for potential threats.
Meerkats use a wide range of vocalizations, each with its own distinct meaning. Alarm calls are used to transmit warnings that predators are nearby, with separate calls used to distinguish avian from terrestrial predators.
Meerkats are fiercely territorial, and both males and females will readily fight strangers or interlopers from other mobs. Confrontations begin with hissing, spitting, bristling, aggressive jumping or charging, but threat displays can progress into fights resulting in serious injury. Fighting can also occur within the mob, where group dynamics are frequently re-asserted.
Reproduction
The alpha animals do most but not all breeding within the mob. Females reproduce around three times a year in the wild, averaging two to five pups per litter. Pups are sexually mature by the time they are a year old.
When meerkat mothers need to leave their burrows in search of food, other females function as babysitters by guarding the pups.
