Meerkat

From Meerkats Wiki

The meerkat is a little type of mammal that lives in the Kalahari desert in southern Africa and Botswana. It correlates with the mongoose as they are both in the Herpestidea family. Its scientific name is Surricatta. It lives in burrows and eats incects, scorpions, beatles, worms, centipedes and lizards. It doesn't have to drink water. It takes all the water needed by its food.

Contents 1 Mobs 2 Leaving the Mob 3 Encounters With Other Meerkat Mobs 4 Meerkat Diet 5 Eating Their Prey 6 Meerkat's Predators 7 Adressing the Predators

[edit] Mobs

The meerkat is born into a mob. The mob is the scientific name for a pack, group or gang. Meerkats live in mobs for protection. They are so tiny that they could not live on their own for two much. Meerkats who live in mobs can live 12 years! Such as a cat. The mob is very cooperative with each other. The meerkats work as a team and do everything together. Babysitters are left behind in the burrow to look after the little pups who are not able to follow the adults. In the foraging trip while the mob is foraging there are guards who look for any enemy or predator. The mob also changes burrow every month as their old burrow has been filled with fleas.

[edit] Leaving the Mob

The males stay with the mob until for a while and usually leave in groups of brothers lead by the oldest males. Or sometimes when a dominant female dies the dominant male will lead a roving coalition of his sons. On the other hand, females would like to stay in a mob forever. However, it is very rare for a female to stay in a mob for more than 3-5 years. Most of them when they become 3 years old are evicted.

[edit] Encounters With Other Meerkat Mobs

If a meerkat mob ecounters with one other mob a war is going to start. Protecting their territory is very important because they are fed from it (tarantulas, scorpions, beetles, worms etc.) as they are not allowed to move to an other territory. To do this, they must win the enemy mob  in a counter. If a side decides to begin the war first, the meerkats will start their ethic war-danse taggling their feet and jumping with their tails up. In the other side the dominat female or the general male this time, will have to choose what is their gang going to do: Fight or Flee. The mob that is defeted is chased away, losing a part of its territory.

[edit] Meerkat Diet

Meerkats leave their burrow at about 6:30 a.m. when all the member have woken up. Then, they begin foraging or, begin eating while others guardwatch. Their gifted nose can catch the smell of the prey. After that, they dig the sand and find the snack. Their diet contains:

1. incects
2. scorpions
3. beetles
4. worms
5. centipedes
6. lizards

[edit] Eating Their Prey

• Eating incects, beetles and worms: OK, that's easy. The only thing they must do, is to find and eat it.

• Eating scorpions: Yes, it's true that meerkats do eat scorpions! When they discover one, they eat them from the back to avoid their sharp calipers. Their poison does not effect the meerkats.

• Eating centipedes: The meerkats do not have to dig to discover a centipede as it lives on the surface. After finding it, they roll it in the sand to eliminate its poison on the back.

• Eating lizards: The lizards in the Kalahari are so big like meerkats and live both underground and on the surface. So, the meerkats struggle their necks to kill and gobble them in peace.

[edit] Meerkat's Predators

The poor meerkats are a delicious meal for predators such as:

1. eagles
2. hawks
3. owls
4. jackals
5. snakes

The pups are at greater risk and the group protects them even when they put their own lives on risk. Sadly, 1 in the 4 pups won't make it to adulthood.

[edit] Adressing the Predators

Every day the mob leaves its sleeping burrow and begins foraging. The dominant female leads the group. When the group starts digging in the sand trying to find a beetle-snack for breakfast there are others who guardwatch. When they spot an enemy they bark. The mob understands and flees to the nearest burrow to hide (if it is a flying enemy). If there isn't anything to hide in or under, the merkats stand in their two legs in an order and bob their heads rhythmicly. Behind them is the babysitter cuddling the helpless small pups. The predator cannot aim a meerkat and leaves. If it is a jackal the meerkats run away and if it is a snake the meerkats do not escape. Instead, they circle it with their tails up. They bob their heads again (now at the snake, not at the sky) meaning that it is spotted. The snake is not able to eat any pup and leaves. However, in this ecounter the snake could bite a meerkat. Although they are very small, the meerkats have opportunities to survive the poison-bite.