This cute little creature is a member of the mongoose family.
The mob, gang or clan live as a group in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and in South Africa.
Each clan can consist of up to 50 or more cute meerkats, highly social and extremely territorial.
The sight of this cute animal sitting in an upright and alert position is a popular pose that makes for great meerkat pictures.
They are are burrowing animals, digging a network of tunnels throughout a typical sandy meerkat habitat
Facts About Meerkats
Their eyes are at the front of their faces giving them great depth perception and wide peripheral vision. This allows them to see things way off in the distance.
When they are digging their little ears can close over to stop soil and sand getting in
Meerkats can be identified by the stripes that run across their back, no two patterns are the same, something akin to human's fingerprints.
They have a black patch on their underside that has no hair. This is used to attract the suns rays and warm their bodies. In the Meerkat habitat the desert nights are extremely cold and the morning sun is a welcome sight.
They eat mainly insects which they dig for with their claws. They can also eat lizards, snakes, scorpions, certain plants, eggs and other small mammals.
As they don't store body fat and are highly active they require a constant food source and therefore need to forage continuously.
As the group forages they deploy a sentry to keep a watchful eye open for predators. Should danger appear the sentry barks an alarm warning the clan
At around 1 year of age the female is able to reproduce and will usually have up to 5 pups in a litter.
The mature meerkats can have up to 4 litters per year with most births taking place in the warmer months.
Gestation usually last for around 11 weeks.
The Baby meerkats move from the burrow up onto open ground around 21 days of age and hang around the burrow with the appointed babysitter. It is documented that a female meerkat that has not had a litter can actually lactate to help feed the alpha pairs young.
Once accustomed to the outside world, around 1 week later, they then join the foraging grown ups.
The dominant alpha pair have the habit of killing off any pups that are not its own.
Most animals in the group are siblings or offspring of the alpha pair.
They can also evict the females from the group who then in turn will find a roving mate outside of the group and thus produce another Clan
The act of grooming each other is used to strengthen social bonds
Meerkats bite and also because of their habit of scent-marking their territory they do not make good pets.
The fact is that they are a pack animal and when separated from their clan they can become quite distressed and hysterical
The Meerkats Bookstore
I have found some excellent books on this little critter at Fishpond 3
Just click on the image below and check out the selection that my Affiliate partner has to offer.
I have also selected several that you can check out quickly. Just click on the image or text link in the gallery below
In a land of majestic beauty, in a place ruled by giants, the smallest of creatures have created their home.
Narrated by screen legend Paul Newman and in collaboration with the celebrated BBC Natural History Unit, this ground breaking cinematic experience takes you to the heart of Africa, deep in the Kalahari Desert, to the secretive home of the fascinating Meerkats.
The series follows a group of named individuals and the viewer becomes closely involved in the life-or-death struggles, just like a soap opera, of this curiously attractive and anthropomorphic tribe.
When the baby meerkat is born, it is only the size of an adult hand. But even though they are small, they quickly take on big responsibilities within the complex community.
From keeping a lookout for predators and prey, to foraging for food, these babies spend a lot of time fighting to be in charge!
For the first time Simon King (Big Cat Diary) tries to enter the Lilliputian world of the meerkats and gain the trust and acceptance of these creatures through their dramatic day-to-day lives.
Using miniature video cameras and ground level steadicam, Simon films the meerkats so they appear on screen as the size of humans.
The Meerkat tends to stick together, so Marvin's individuality makes him rather unpopular. But when they decide to stand up to the bullying buzzard brothers, who do they need but someone with a little bit more guts than the average meerkat - Marvin.
Zigby is a charming new 3D animated series that takes pre-schoolers on an awe-inspiring journey through the jungle... with a gung-ho Zebra, a not-so-bright Meerkat and a nervous Guinea Fowl.
The Melbourne Zoo Meerkat Manor is a great place for a meerkat encounter where you can observe their habitat, take some great photos and pick up some excellent meerkat information.
For a Meerkats Close-up Encounter...
Price per person- $30(over and above the admission cost to the Zoo)
Max group size- 4 people
Restrictions-Minimum age- 5 years of age. Children aged 5 to 12 must be accompanied by a paying adult
Available- 11:30 am
Make sure that you book early
Bookings Information
# Bookings can be made by contacting Zoo Photos on 03 9285 9458 or Wild Encounters booth 9285 9342
# Bookings can be made on the day by visiting Zoo Photos or Wild Encounters booth from 9am
The Melbourne Zoo is open between the hours of 9:00am through to 5:00pm every day of the year.
Allow a good 3 hours to visit the exhibits and really experience what the zoo has to offer.
A great way to save money and budget in a lot more great Melbourne Attractions to visit, is to use the Melbourne and Beyond Smartvisit Card with free entry to over 40 different venues.
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