Meerkat Fact File

The beloved Meerkat is one of Africa's most iconic small mammal species - largely thanks to the Lion King's Timon! But how much do you really know about these firstly little carnivores?

Name: Meerkat

Scientific Name: Suricata suricatta

Family: Mongoose Group Name: 'Gang' or 'Mob'

Subspecies: There are actually three established subspecies of Meerkat, all of which differ physically:

1. The Southern African Meerkat

2. Angolan Meerkat

3. Desert Meerkat

Distribution: As the subspecies would suggest, Meerkat are found in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Angola.

Habitat: Meerkats tend to prefer large open spaces and dry or stony landscapes. This is because they actually live in underground in tunnel systems known as burrows. A burrow could have anywhere between 10 and 90 entry points and at their deepest can reach 3 metres below ground. These burrows are dug close to a water source and a gang of Meerkats will share about 5 within their territory and regularly rotate who lives where. Sometimes they even share these burrows with ground squirrels who work on extending them. Meerkats will always stay within easy access of a warren as this is where they hide from predators, cool off from the sun, sleep at night, and have their babies.

Each Meerkat territory will be between 200-1'000ha and the gang usually includes anywhere between 10-30 animals. Although it's not uncommon for this number to rise as high as 50 when food supply is high.

Feeding:

Despite the cute fluffy feeling we tend to get when thinking about Meerkats, they are actually pretty feisty carnivores. Their food mainly consists of insects such as termites, flies, butterflies, and moths. However, whenever possible they will also try their luck on larger prey such as mice, snakes, and small birds. In dry weather they tend to chew on tsamma melons, succulents, or fruits - probably for the moisture they get out of them. Although they forage individually, they tend to stay close as a gang and once the food supply at a warren has been depleted, they will move on as a group to find a new place to set up camp.

Behaviour:

Although Meerkat gangs may consists of a few breeding pairs, there is still a pretty strict hierarchy in both males and females and usually the gang is dominated by an alpha male and alpha female pair. Males may occasionally change gangs and sometimes subordinate individuals will be excluded from the gang and forced to leave. However, they are a pretty relaxed species overall and even though they will often squabble over food, their levels of in-group aggression is fairly low. If another foreign Meerkat tries to pass into their territory however - well, they will definitely put up a fight to protect what's theirs!

They also have great group coordination when it comes to warding off predators. Smaller predators are threatened by the group fluffing up their coats, snapping and spitting at once. They also jump up and down, giving the illusion of an advance. In fact, when they fight together they can scare off even the larger more formidable predators such as Jackal.

Breeding females can produce young all year round, although it's most common for this to happen during warmer, wetter months. Each litter can have up to 5 babies and the whole gang joins in to raise the young. Some members of the gang will be designated babysitters while the rest go out to hunt or stand guard for predators. This is an extremely important job that will rotate throughout the gang on a daily basis.

The guards are also extremely important in Meerkat gangs. While the others hunt or babysit, the guards will find high ground and stand upright on their hing legs. From this vantage point they are able to watch out for approaching predators and give a series of alarm calls if they see anything suspicious. This allows the gang to dive underground for protection. Meerkats are known to have a large range of calls for all different situations, being able to differentiate between alarm calls for predators from the sky, predators from the ground, and the alert for oncoming rain just to name a few.

Fun Facts:

• Meerkats work hard to maintain their body temperature and usually start the day with a sunbathe to regain any heat lost during the night.

• The lifespan of a wild Meerkat is about 15 years.

• Of the 35 Mongoose species, Meerkats are definitely the most sociable, with only 3 other species known to live in groups larger than pairs.

• Meerkats have an excellent sense of smell which means they can sniff out potential prey that is just under the surface of the sand. They can then use their long and sharp front claws to dig out their prey.

• Meerkats average about 50 centimetres long, including their tail.

• A Meerkat can spot an eagle in flight more than a thousand feet away.