meerkat facts

Fast meerkat facts

Scientific name: Suricata suricatta
Family name: Herpestidae
Classification: Mammal
IUCN status: Least concern
Lifespan (in wild): 12-14 years
Weight: Less than one kilogram
Body length: Around 29cm (plus a 19cm tail)
Top speed: 32 km/h
Diet: Omnivore: beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and scorpions. They’ll also eat small reptiles, birds, eggs, fruit and plants.
Habitat: Desert
Range:

meerkat facts

There are few animals on Earth who work as well together as meerkats. These squirrel-size members of the mongoose family live in groups of different sizes, from as little as three to as big as 50 members. everyone in the mob participates in gathering food, keeping a look out for predators and taking care of the babies.

meerkat facts

Meerkats live in the deserts and grasslands of the southern tip of Africa. They are super cute, with bushy, brown-striped fur, a small, pointed face and large eyes surrounded by dark patches. They average about 50 centimetres long, including their tail. These extremely social animals live together in burrows, which they dig with their long, sharp claws. Living underground keeps mob members safe from predators and out of the harsh African heat. These burrows can be 5 metres long and contain multiple entrances, tunnels, and rooms. A group will use up to five separate burrows at a time.

Meerkats only go outside during the daytime. Each morning, as the sun comes up, the mob emerges and begins looking for food. They use their keen sense of smell to locate their favourite foods, which include beetles, caterpillars, spiders and scorpions. They”ll also eat small reptiles, birds, eggs, fruit and plants. Back at the burrow, several babysitters stay behind to watch over newborn pups. This duty rotates to different members of the mob, and a sitter will often go all day without food. The babysitters” main job is to protect pups from meerkats in rival mobs who, if given the chance, will kill the babies. Eeek!

meerkat facts

While the rest of the mob forages for food, one of the meerkats (or sometimes more), called a sentry, will find a high point, like a termite mound, and perch on its back legs. From here it scans the sky and desert for predators such as eagles, hawks and jackals. A sentry who senses danger will let out a high-pitched squeal, sending the mob scrambling for cover.

Meerkats dig safe places called bolt holes throughout their foraging area, where they can hide in an emergency. But if caught in the open by a predator, a meerkat will try to look fierce, lying on its back and showing its teeth and claws. If a group is confronted, the meerkats will stand together, arching their backs, raising their hair and hissing. This sometimes fools an attacker into thinking they are a single large, vicious animal.

 

meerkat facts

Meerkats are abundant throughout their range and are not considered threatened or endangered. But they live a very difficult life in the African desert, constantly threatened by hungry predators, rival meerkats, drought and burrow-flooding rainstorms.

 

Picture credits
Meerkat watching for predator: Joel Sartore, National Geographic Creative. Group of meerkats: Nico Smit, Dreamstime. Meerkat group on rock: tratong, Shutterstock. Meerkat sitting on log: Kjuuurs, Dreamstime. Map of meerkat distribution: National Geographic Maps.

 

What do you make of our meerkat facts? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Likes

LEAVE A COMMENT

THANK YOU

Your comment will be checked and approved shortly.

WELL DONE,
YOUR COMMENT
HAS BEEN ADDED!

COMMENTS

  • milly

    i like meerkats they're so cool

  • bob

  • Gus

    I think meerkats are super cute.

  • Cool

  • Lama

    This is awsome

  • Chloe and Cassandra

  • Koala

    Great

  • Hayden

    cccccccooooooooollllllll

  • chloeo

    hi

  • shappy

    good information's about meerkats

  • Cool

  • COOL!

  • COOL!

  • goddardtuhakarainar

    i think meerkats are extraodinary animals

  • waza

    great website, learnt a lot

  • ai

    cool

  • cat407

    hi am the best

  • liam

    i am finding facts about meerkats for a speech up up national gegraphic kids

  • good

  • hera

    cool i looooooooooooooove meerkats

  • GuestOct312018

    Nice

  • ava.

    cool. I love meerkats, there funny.

  • looo

    i didnt know that!!!!!!!

  • Amelie

    Cool

  • cool

  • turtleshark99

    this great! meerkats!

  • I love the cute pictures!

  • Tftfthtftfj

  • sall

    it was cool

  • Akakam

    nice

  • Koko

    Hi This is goood

  • jj

    awsome

  • giraffe girl

    sooooo cute this will help me with my information report thanks so much

  • Layla.McMullan

    these pictures of merrkats are so sweet there my favorite animal.

  • Lilly

    Cool!

  • Cool!

  • travis

  • nikey

    this is a nice i like the book

  • jeffry star

    cowabunga dude

  • matthew

    gooood

  • Michael

    Cool!

  • Lara

    Awesome

  • Meerkats are awesome

  • Weird animal thing

    I love meerkats

  • Azharul

    cool

  • nice

  • mummmmmmmmmmmhepinchedme

    So cool!

  • Sunday

    Cool dude

  • Claudia

    I love ❤️ meerkats

  • Oscar L.W

    This is really helpful for a meerkat info thingy I am writing! M-cats are my fave animal!

  • madi

    cool

  • Lara

    Cool

  • Chris

    This is so cool

  • Lara

    Great website and really handy

  • Kiwi

    Cool

  • cool nice

  • coooooooooooooooolkaleb

    Some things i did not know

  • justin

    the facs are cool

  • nice

  • nice cool lol cute wow

  • nice cool lol cute funny

  • Me

    Very helpful! :)

  • jeff

    great

  • So cool

  • dog

    woah

  • Cool

  • Marko

    this helps my school assembly thank you!!!!!

  • zaylah

    wow

  • bob

    good

  • Nat

    Cool information

  • Unicorncatnic

    This was very helpful for school

  • Cool

  • Cool!

  • Ryan

    doesnt say who found them

  • Doreen Green AKA Squirrel Girl

    I love meerkats

  • Doreen Green AKA Squirrel Girl

    I love meerkats

  • miro

    great info

  • anshi

    So cool!!!!!!!!

  • lyla

    hi, i would love to be a zoo keeper at perth zoo. i study biology to get a degree when i an older . i am hoping to be a meerkat keeper which is in the african savana area of the zoo also known as exotic. i love meerkats

  • coopdatroop

    i luv meerkats i am going 2 the zoo on monday with my class room i am doing a meerkat report and that is why i went onto the meerkat facts

  • shyla

    nice facts

  • ethan

    meerkat are awesome !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • puffefish

    this was in the reptile page what???? but i love-ove-ove meerkats my table at school was called meerkats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • SO CUTE

  • I ❤️ Mearkats

  • Hannah

    I'm loving it

  • maddison

    i adore meerkats .im a big fan of them.

  • Jack

    I ♥️Meerkats

  • Lilly

    The picture are so cute

  • tahlia

    i love mearkats

  • Lili

    Meerkats are so cool!

  • Chloe

    Good

  • mnecherry

    awesome!!

  • nissa

    the facts were relly relly good

  • Lottie

    I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THAT!

More Like General Animals

General Animals

10 leopard facts!

Find out all about leopards!
General Animals

10 lion facts!

It’s time for the lowdown on these fierce felines…
General Animals
SPONSORED

Enter Chester Zoo’s Poster Competition now!

Chester Zoo’s awesome Snow Leopard poster competition closes 10th Feb! Don’t forget to enter…
General Animals

Meet Narwhal the ‘unicorn’ puppy

This abandoned pup has an unusual feature on his forehead…