Look at this lone meerkat.

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Indeed, the typical person who first glanced at this animal’s face might say “It’s almost like a racoon’s.” Meerkats are normally one foot in height but some have grown to a foot and a half. The pups are unimaginably only 2-5 inches. This animal can both move with four legs AND stand on two feet. Where can you find this animal, you ask? Well they can only be found in South Africa, specifically in the Kalahari Desert. Meerkats can see in the dark very well, and also live in burrows that can possibly be 50 feet underground. But what’s amazing is that there are more than 200 of these bizarre burrows, as well as more than 100 bolt holes (this entire sentence a prediction). Meerkats are not afraid of humans, and don’t bite, even if not domesticated.

Burrows and Foraging

Meerkats, as I told you, live in burrows. But a mob (Mob means a family of meerkats) can move to a different burrow over 30 times in one year! Few reasons are that, snakes are a common danger to meerkats, and can sometimes wander into a mob’s burrow. As their burrows have more than one entrance, this is likely. Second, the mob may move if there are too many meerkats in the mob. This can also be solved if the mob leader kicks out a member of the mob, even if they are related.

Meerkats feed by foraging. They travel in foraging parties, not with the whole group. It goes like this: three-fourths of the mob go out foraging, while the last third babysits pups and/or guards the burrow from other mobs and snakes (explained later). Then the foraging party returns. The next day, the meerkats that stayed at the burrow the day before goes with the foraging party. Some meerkats who foraged the day before stay and guard the burrow.

The foraging party can only venture within their mob territory. They set their territories by scenting ((?) I forgot the word) throughout their territory. It’s basically the scent of each mob’s urine. If the urine doesn’t smell familiar, then they are in another mob’s territory. Mobs can steal territories by urinating over the old urine.

Meerkats eat scorpions, any kind of bugs, even big bugs! The grown-up meerkats have strong teeth, so they can also eat turtle eggs, lizards, snake eggs, and bird corpses.

Meerkats are very complex. If they find an area rich in food, they stay in that area. Everyone takes turns eating and guarding. Meerkats guard by standing on their hind legs, so they can have a better view of the landscape. If they see a predator, like a jaguar or a falcon, or even an owl in the daylight, or something suspicious, they make some kind of alarm call, alerting anyone and gathering at a spot. Then they all look at the concern, all standing. Then if they find that it’s dangerous, they quickly run to the nearest bolt-hole. Bolt holes are small burrows only used for emergencies. One meerkat stays inside the entrance to keep a look out. If the danger is gone, he goes inside and tells everyone it’s safe.

Here is the environment meerkats live in.

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Fighting and Guarding

Snakes: If the meerkats encounter a snake, they surround it, snarling at it and sticking their tails up making them look bigger. Each minute they move closer, snarling and hissing, and they hiss and snarl at the same time! If the snake attempts to bite, everyone moves back quickly, like a cat, and moves in again. They move their heads up and down with the rate of each breath they take. Their stance is that of a dog ready to pounce. You think they will pounce? Never. They keep doing it until the snake retreats.

Other Mobs: There are too many reasons on why mobs trespass into other territories, but when two encounter each other, both mobs stand in a line until the leader makes a call. Both mobs don’t run towards each other, but do a war-dance-like run with their tails up high. When both ‘armies’ collide, it becomes very deadly. Biting, clawing, pouncing, and chasing each other. One meerkat runs, 2 chases him. It’s so looks so brutal and amzing at the same time. Dust trails each meerkat that runs. If you were looking at a battle on a hill, you would see many meerkats running all over the place. In the middle, you would see meerkat clusters, many meerkats biting and clawing in one spot. In the end, one mob would retreat or a mob would be completely killed, but that’s very unlikely.

[visual information from Animal Planet; Channel 51 @ comcast]

Fights like that can lead to mob separations. The mob could split in half(or more) because some fights can range for over a mile. If all parts don’t find each other in a day, then new mobs are created.

Meerkat guarding is simple, they just stand on their hind legs and look around. They can also climb and stand on boulders, large fallen trees, and thick shrubs. They can climb on trees, but are afraid of owls and large birds.

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Don’t you agree? They are cute. Did you know they are domesticated? Search the net to find shelters that have pet meerkats.