Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

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               CLASSIFICATION:

Kingdom……………………………..Animalia

Phylum………………………………Chordata

Class……………………………….Mammalia

Order……………………………….Carnivora

Family…………………………….Herpestidae

Genus………………………………...Suricata

Species………………………Suricata suricatta

Meerkats are mammals that are diurnal, which means that they are awake during the

daytime. As soon as the sun rises, they come out of the burrow and sunbathe. Meerkats are

members of the mongoose family. In the wild, meerkats typically live for about eight years

(animals.sandiegozoo.org).        

The meerkat is native to Angola, Botswana, and Namibia, all countries in southwest

Africa (iucnredlist.org). Their habitats are savannas and open plains (lpzoo.org) in the dusty

south African Kalahari Desert with a home territory of four square miles. Meerkats live in

burrows deep underground typically made by other animals. These burrows usually have about

fifteen different entrances and exits with many tunnels and chambers. Some chambers can be

around six-and-a-half feet deep. They have many burrow systems and move burrows every few

months (animals.sandiegozoo.org). Meerkats have a pointed snout to get prey from tight spaces

(nationalzoo.si.edu) and four toes with long claws. Their length is normally 9 to 11.5 inches, or

24 to 29 centimeters, and their weight is 1.4 to 2.1 pounds, or 620 to 969 grams. They have scent

pouches under their tails, which they rub on rocks to mark their territory. Meerkats have thin fur

and dark skin on their stomachs to control their body temperature. They have dark spots around

their eyes to deflect the sunlight glare and horizontal pupils for wide range vision. The meerkat

has a special membrane on its eyes, protecting it from dirt. They have a good sense of smell,

which allows them to smell their prey. Meerkats are vicious fighters, so they try to avoid conflict

between groups. However, if territories overlap, there can be many disputes between groups.

Meerkats live in groups of about forty called gangs or mobs (animals.sandiegozoo.org). Gangs of

meerkats are ruled by a dominant female, called the queen. When a meerkat becomes the queen,

she goes through a growth spurt. Typically, her head gets three percent wider, her body grows

three percent larger, and her weight gets six percent larger (Reebs). When the dominant female

dies, the largest female takes her place as queen. All other non-dominants are ranked in a sort of

hierarchy based on size (Huchard et al.) Meerkats live in a matriarchal society, where females

are more powerful and are usually bigger than males (animals.sandiegozoo.org). Normally,

females make more noise than males do (nationalzoo.si.edu). 

    Natural predators of the meerkat are jackals, eagles, and falcons. While other meerkats

are out foraging, they have guards that stand on their hind legs and watch for predators. The

guard has a special call that announces the beginning of their duty as guard. Guards also use a

special call named the watchman’s song to let others know nothing is wrong. If there is a

predator approaching, guards bark or whistle, which causes the other meerkats to bolt. To make

it easier for foraging and meerkats to quickly get to safety, they dig bolt holes, which are tunnels

with an opening wide enough to hold a crowd of meerkats. Mobs can also stir up dust as cover

from predators or stand together to scare them off. The meerkat’s diet consists of insects, spiders,

snails, rodents, small birds, eggs, lizards, and scorpions (animals.sandiegozoo.org). Meerkats are

omnivores, and they sometimes eat fruit (nationalgeographic.com). Adult meerkats have an

immunity to scorpion stings (animals.sandiegozoo.org). To decide when to forage, meerkats use

the soil temperature. If it is raining, meerkats do not forage (lpzoo.org). Meerkats are protective

of their food and defend it from others in the mob (nationalzoo.si.edu).

    The queen can have several litters a year (animals.sandiegozoo.org) from August to

March (nationalzoo.si.edu). Meerkat mobs have a few dominant males who father most pups

(Clutton-Brock). In fact, ninety percent of reproduction is done by the queen and one dominant

male (Huchard et al.).  Meerkats have a ten week gestation period and the amount of pups in a

litter can be one to eight, but usually three to four. Pups are born live, mostly hairless, with their

eyes and ears closed (animals.sandiegozoo.org). When young are born, meerkat mobs have

babysitters, or helpers, to help care for the pups (Reebs). These helpers help the young during the

pups’ first ten to twelve weeks of life. They are vital for the pups’ survival because the young

receive most of their food from them (Clutton-Brock et al.). Before the young can hunt, they

must compete for food from helpers. Helpers tend to feed the pup closest to them, so pups fight

furiously and make loud noises (Sharpe). Pups at birth weigh 0.9 to 1.3 ounces or 25 to 36

grams. Their maturity age is 1.5 years. At two weeks, the pups’ eyes open, and at four weeks

they leave den. They start eating food other than milk at three weeks (animals.sandiegozoo.org).

When they are mature, most males leave the mob (lpzoo.org). They normally leave home with

one or more group mates of the same gender (Sharpe).

    The IUCN Red List category for meerkats is “Least Concern.” Their population trend is stable

(iucnredlist.org). Meerkats are sometimes tamed for use as rodent-catchers, but it is not a threat

to their survival. Young meerkats are taught to be so afraid of predators that passing airplanes

scare them, so they learn to get to safety quickly (nationalgeographic.com). The meerkat species

should continue to be protected in years to come because they are a fascinating and unique

species.

Works Cited

Clutton-Brock, T.H., et al. “Effects of Helpers on Juvenile Development and Survival in

Meerkats.” Science, vol. 293, no.5539, 2001, p. 2446. Academic OneFile,

    link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A79128048/AONE?u=maricopa_main&sid=

    AONE&xid=5af50fa3. Accessed 22 Sept. 2018.

Huchard, Elise, et al. “Competitive growth in a cooperative mammal.” Nature, vol. 533, No.

7604, 2016, p. 532+. Academic OneFile,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A453723776/AONE?

u=chandler_main&sid=AONE&xid=145fe13f. Accessed 22 Sept. 2018.

“Meerkat.” Lincoln Park Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo, lpzoo.org/animal/meerkat. Accessed 22 Sept.

2018.

“Meerkat.” National Geographic, National Geographic Society, 2015, www.national

    geographic.com/animals/mammals/m/meerkat/. Accessed 31 Aug. 2018.

“Meerkat.” Smithsonian’s National Zoo, nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/meerkat. Accessed 

    22 Sept. 2018.

“Meerkat: Suricata suricatta.” San Diego Zoo Animals and Plants, 2018 San Diego Zoo Global,

animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/meerkat. Accessed 27 Aug. 2018.

Reebs, Stephan. “Job growth.” Natural History, Dec. 2004, p. 14. Academic OneFile,

link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A126240145/AONE?u=maricopa_main&sid=AOE?u=

maricopa_main&sid=AONE&xid=509537cf. Accessed 15 Sept. 2018.

Sharpe, Lynda L. “Meerkats at play: evolution demands that activities costing a lot of energy

    provide survival value in return. But what do these rambunctious little mammals gain 

    from having so much fun?” Natural History, Apr. 2007, p. 29+.  Academic OneFile,

    link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A161395438/AONE?u=Maricopa_main&sid=

    AONE&xid=81fdd321. Accessed 4 Sept. 2018.

“Suricata suricatta.” The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for 

    Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, iucnredlist.org/details/41624/0.

    Accessed 15 Sept. 2018.