A meerkat, scientifically known as Suricata suricatta, is a small mongoose species found in the arid regions of Southern Africa. Despite the “mir cat” search term, these animals are not felines; they belong to the Herpestidae family of mongooses. Meerkats are recognized for their slender bodies, distinctive facial markings, and highly social behavior.
Characteristics and Social Life
Meerkats possess slender bodies, measuring between 10 to 13 inches in length, with tails adding another 7 to 9 inches. Their fur ranges from grayish-brown to light gray, often marked with dark stripes on their backs, providing camouflage in their desert surroundings. They also have distinctive dark bands around their eyes, giving them a masked appearance. These animals are equipped with sharp claws and powerful limbs, specialized for digging extensive burrow systems.
Meerkats inhabit arid, open plains, particularly in the Kalahari and Namib Deserts of Southern Africa. Their habitat choice is influenced by soil type, as they require firm soil for constructing complex burrow networks. These burrows provide shelter from predators and harsh weather conditions, maintaining moderate internal temperatures.
Meerkats exhibit a complex social structure, living in large groups referred to as mobs or gangs, which can consist of 2 to 50 individuals, though typically around 30. Within these groups, a social hierarchy is led by a dominant breeding pair. Non-breeding, subordinate members play a cooperative role, providing care to the pups. This cooperative behavior includes duties like babysitting and teaching the young how to forage.
Diet and Daily Activities
Meerkats are omnivores, with a diet primarily consisting of insects such as beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and scorpions. They also consume small vertebrates like lizards, snakes, small mammals, birds, and their eggs, along with plant matter such as roots and tubers. Meerkats are opportunistic feeders.
Foraging is a significant daily activity for meerkats, occupying about 40% of their time. They use their keen sense of smell and sharp claws to locate and dig out prey from the soil. When foraging, the group spreads out, maintaining visual and vocal contact, and will often work together to catch and subdue larger prey. They typically forage along different routes each day to prevent depleting food sources and allow for renewal.
Meerkats are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day, mostly in the early morning and late afternoon. A notable daily activity is “sentinel duty,” where one meerkat stands guard on a raised area, such as a sandbank or bush, constantly scanning for predators like jackals, hyenas, or birds of prey. This duty is shared among individuals, with older subordinate males often taking on this role. If a predator is spotted, the sentinel barks a warning, and the entire group rushes to the safety of their burrows.