Fact Sheet : MEERKAT
Family: Viverridae
What do meerkats look like?
Meerkats are a kind of mongoose. They are grizzled gray or tan, with dark brown bands across their sides and back. The tip of their tails and ears and the ring around their eyes are black. They are about 30 cm long, with a 3 to 4 cm tail. They weigh less than a kilogram. Males and females look alike. Timon from The Lion King is a meerkat.
Where are meerkats found?
Meerkats are found in southern Africa, including South Africa, Angola, Namibia, and Botswana. They live in dry areas where the soil is sandy or hard and stony. They avoid forests and mountains. At Brookfield Zoo, meerkats live in The Fragile Desert.
What do meerkats eat?
Meerkats eat mainly insects, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, eggs, small birds, mammals, lizards, snails, and some plants.
What kind of behavior should I expect to see from meerkats?
Meerkats are very social animals. They live in colonies that are usually made up of several families and may be as large as 30 animals. They are active during the day and spend the night in burrows that they dig, or they may borrow or share a burrow with ground squirrels. In the wild, meerkats often bask in the sun. When a group of meerkats is looking for food, which they do much of the time, at least one member of the group usually sits straight up on a rock, log, or elevated patch of ground, sniffing the wind and “checking out” the surroundings for danger. Each animal looks for its own food. A group may try to drive off a predator by bunching together. They may also defend themselves by throwing themselves on their back, holding their teeth and claws ready for defense. They may approach an enemy with their fur bristled, tail straight up, back arched, and limbs straight to try to get the enemy to retreat.
How do meerkats communicate?
While looking for food, adults make almost constant twittering “contact calls.” This probably helps keep the group together. They have at least two different alarm calls, one that indicates “run for cover” and the other a concern call, meaning that danger may be nearby. Meerkats scent-mark their territory. This provides information about the sex and sexual receptivity of an animal and identifies the marker and his/her pack. They have keen eyesight and color vision.
How do meerkats reproduce?
Meerkats can breed when they are a year old. Usually only the dominant pair in a group breeds. The female produces two to five pups after an 11-week gestation. In the wild, they usually breed only during the wettest months of the year. In captivity, they breed year-round. Cubs are born in burrows and are blind and sparsely furred. They open their eyes at about two weeks and begin to eat solid food at about two months. Group members other than the mother may bring solid food to the pups. Males may even groom and play with the pups, strengthening the group’s social bonds.
How long do meerkats live?
In the zoo, meerkats may live to be 17 years old.
Are meerkats endangered?
Meerkats are not considered to be endangered. Their main predators are snakes, monitor lizards, birds of prey, and larger carnivores.
What kinds of things will I see in the exhibit?
You can get very close to the meerkats in The Fragile Desert and should have no problem seeing them. Even though some of the animals have ear tags, or shorter tails, you probably won’t be able to tell them apart.