Meerkat facts

Meerkats are small mammals that belong to the

mongoose family. There are around 35 types of
mongoose. A meerkat community is called a mob
or gang, and can number up to 40 members. The
name Meerkat is an English word from the
Africans with dutch origin meaning lake or marsh
cat. Adult meerkats will grow to a standing height
of 12 inches and weigh 2 lbs. A pregnant female
will weigh around 2.8lbs. Meerkats are born
with hair but not full coats and with their eyes
closed. They live in the southern part of Africa,
which is dominated by the Kalahari Desert
Meerkats will live in the wild up to 10 years,
however in captivity they can live to be 15 years
of age.

Habitat
The Kalahari Desert where the Meerkats live is
a harsh grassland environment. They dig
burrows in the ground and choose places that
their tunnels wont easily collapse. All the
meerkats work together to build their dens for
protection, sleeping and breeding.
Tunnels are connected with dens and entrance
holes for safety. The burrows are sometimes
shared with other animals such as the ground
squirrel and yellow mongoose. As they live in hot
dry areas the temperature can reach over 100F
during the day, if the temperature is to high
during the afternoon they will return to their
burrows to cool off. Also the sand temperature
can reach 158F during the day. Meerkats hunt for
food underground which means they have to be
excellent diggers. They eat various foods
including insects , snakes, roots, plants, even
poisonous scorpions whose venom they are
immune to. However 87 of their diet is made
up of insects.

Adaptation
Meerkats have had to adapt in many ways to be
able to survive in the harsh environment of the
Kalahari Desert .These adaptations are both
physical and behavioral.
Physical adaptations

Eyes
Their eyes are surrounded by dark brown or
black furs which act like sunglasses to prevent
glare and to help them see far distant objects.
The dark circles make their eyes bigger and
scarier which can scare predators as they project
a threatening look. Meerkats have a wide range
of vision which allows them to look widely without
turning their heads around. Certain meerkats
eyes have adapted to be able to have good
colour vision allowing them to stare into bright
and sharp colours like the sun. A meerkat
removes sand from its eyes by blinking. Between
the eye and eye lid there is a white membrane
called the nictitating membrane. This membrane
acts as a windshield wiper and removes sand
from the their eyes with every blink.
Nose
The nose is probably the most important part of
the Meerkat. Their noses are mostly light brown
in colour and a medium size that points out 2-3
inches. They also use their noses to identify the
scent of any members of their pack. Amazingly
they can smell if one of their family members is
sick or giving birth or has had any interactions
with strangers.
Legs and feet
Another structural adaptation involves their legs
and feet . They have four paws to walk on,
however they are able to stand on just their two
hind legs. From this position they can view the
surrounding area easily and can see potential
dangers. Having strong paws and long nails
enables them to dig and make their burrows.
Meerkats like the soft sand when digging for food
as it lessons the energy requirements in this
harsh environment. However they prefer
compact sand to build their burrows as they
would collapse in soft sands. Meerkats are fast
runners for short distances, they can run up to 20
miles per hour at top speed! This helps when
being attacked by other animals.
Fur
A certain species of Meerkat can be recognized
by the colour of their fur. The colour of the fur can
range from dark brown to light brown or grey
depending on their environment. The markings
on their backs are unique and no two are the
same. Their fur is a great conductor of heat, they
do sweat and can even moderate their
temperature. Even though they are used to hot
and wet conditions their fur is not suited to cold
conditions at night.They only have a thin layer of
hair on their stomach under which is a patch of
dark skin.During winter this area of skin can
collect heat from the sun in order to provide
warmth on cooler winter days.

Ears
Meerkats also have a unique ability to close their
ears, this is to keep dirt out while they burrow,
which they do quiet often.
Tail
All meerkats have a thin tail that is 7-10 inches
long mostly brown in colour with a special black
tip. The reason for the dark tip is to identify other
gang members while foraging for food. Meerkats
forage for food with their tail in an upright position
enabling them to easily identify fellow gang
members. Their tails are thin and skinny and are
used for balance when they stand on their hind
legs. It is also used during snake-mobbing, the
tip of the tail also tells snakes to strike the tail
rather than the head, this stops meerkats being
bitten.

Metabolic Rate
Animals in the Kalahari Desert including the
meerkats have a 40 lower metabolic rate than
their counterparts in other parts of the world. This
adaptation allows them to survive with less food
and water.
They also have the ability to get all their liquid
requirements from their diet, which means they
dont need to live close to a water source
Behavioral adaptations

Baby-sitting
All adults have their duty to look after and take
care of other young meerkats within the group no
matter whether the baby is theirs or not. Female
meerkats that haven't produced offspring will
feed the alphas young while the alpha female
rests. Adults also have to protect the young from
threats. When there is danger the babies are
often taken underground for safety and to be
prepared to defend. Some babysitters will collect
the young together and put them underneath
themselves for protection.
Breeding
Another adaptation is that Meerkats breed
throughout the year, they are not seasonal
breeders. However the best breeding occurs
during the warmer and wetter seasons. Most
females have 2-5 pups. Babies are not able to
open their eyes for the first ten days. They will
come above ground after 21 days and are taken
care of by the gang. Pups will be fed with milk
when they are between 49 and 63 days old.
Sentry duty
In every group of meerkats there will always be a
sentry which is usually the one that is least
hungry at that time. Having sentry duty is
protecting and guarding from predators,while
others are playing or searching for food. Sentry
duty is usually an hour long or less. Pups less
than 1 month do not need to find food nor do
their duty. Older members of the group will act as
the pups tutor. Meerkats will make peeping
sounds if everything is going well and make loud
and strong barking whistles when they spot
danger. When other meerkats hear the warning
calls, they will run and hide in holes that are
spread across the land.
Fun Facts
The meerkat loses 5 of its body weight over
night making the search for food very important
every day.

Current studies show that the pup that gives the

loudest begging call gets the most food from the
adults.

They often have to dig their own body weight in

dirt just to get a small insect.

Meerkats have over 20 different sounds that

have been recorded which all have different
meanings. These calls have been broken down
into six different groups : lost calls, alarm calls,
leading the group calls, pup feeding calls,
guarding calls, and foraging calls.