The meerkat, Suricata suricatta, is a small, diurnal mongoose species known for its highly organized social structure. This mammal is native to the arid and semi-arid plains of Southern Africa, including the Kalahari Desert region. Living in large family groups called mobs, meerkats have developed complex cooperative behaviors that allow them to thrive in this challenging environment. Their reputation for intricate social interaction is directly tied to their daily need to locate and acquire food while simultaneously avoiding predators.
Primary Components of the Meerkat Diet
Meerkats are classified as omnivores, though their diet is heavily dominated by animal matter, making them primarily insectivorous foragers. Invertebrates account for over 80% of their consumed biomass in some areas. They efficiently locate arthropods, such as beetles, moths, spiders, millipedes, and centipedes, by scent and excavate them from the soil using their powerful foreclaws.
Meerkats are opportunistic hunters and readily consume small vertebrates when available. Their diet includes lizards, small snakes, rodents, and the eggs of ground-nesting birds. The composition of their food intake fluctuates significantly with seasons and local weather patterns, demonstrating the flexibility necessary for survival in their harsh habitat.
Plant matter is consumed for both nutrition and moisture content. Meerkats dig up and eat roots, tubers, and bulbs, often seeking specific plants like the tsama melon during dry periods. This varied diet establishes the meerkat as a predator and scavenger, helping control local invertebrate and small vertebrate populations within its ecosystem.
Group Dynamics in Foraging
The meerkat’s social structure directly influences its foraging efficiency, allowing the group to maximize food discovery while minimizing vulnerability to predators. When foraging, members disperse but maintain visual and vocal contact, typically staying within five meters of one another. This coordinated movement allows the mob to systematically cover a large territory without depleting any single food source. They often return to an area only after a week to permit prey populations to replenish.
Sentinel duty is a defining feature of meerkat foraging, where one individual takes an elevated post to scan the surroundings for danger. This lookout signals to the rest of the mob with specific calls indicating safety or the presence of a threat. The sentinel’s presence allows foraging meerkats on the ground to lower their individual vigilance and focus more intensely on finding food.
Adult meerkats actively train young pups in acquiring and handling prey. This training process, particularly for dangerous prey like scorpions, is carefully graded by the adults. Initially, adults bring dead or disabled prey to the pups, gradually progressing to live prey with the stinger removed, and finally presenting intact live animals for the young to practice on. This structured education ensures the pups develop the competence needed to become self-sufficient hunters.
Specialized Prey Handling and Water Acquisition
Meerkats consume prey that would be hazardous to other small predators. Their handling of venomous scorpions, a common and nutritious food source, is their most notable technique. When a meerkat captures a scorpion, it rapidly bites off the stinger to immediately disable the arachnid’s primary defense. The meerkat then rubs the scorpion’s body in the sand to remove any residual venom clinging to the exoskeleton before consumption.
For other difficult prey, meerkats employ specific methods to bypass protective features. They roll captured millipedes on the ground, which depletes the arthropod’s noxious defensive secretions. When dealing with hard-shelled items such as eggs or large beetle casings, they use a combination of force and manipulation to break through the tough exterior.
Meerkats rarely, if ever, drink standing water, making the consumption of moisture-rich prey and plant matter essential. They obtain nearly all the fluid required for survival from the insects, roots, and tubers they consume. This reliance on food-based moisture is an effective adaptation that allows the meerkat to successfully inhabit the arid regions of southern Africa.