Meerkat Facts | Suricat - Animal Fact Guide

A group of meerkats at late afternoon in the Kalahari, Namibia. Photo by namibelephant / iStock.com.

You might be familiar with meerkats because you know the very happy-go-lucky character, Timon from The Lion King. But what is a meerkat?

When you hear the word, you might think meerkats are related to cats. But meerkats are actually a type of mongoose!

Also known as suricats, meerkats are 30 cm (12 in.) tall. They depend on group cooperation to survive in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa.

A Mob of Meerkats

Meerkats live in groups of 20-50 extended family members. These family groups, called mobs or gangs, are led by an alpha pair, with the female being the most dominant.

Most of the group members are either children or siblings of the alpha pair.

Underground Burrows

Meerkats reside in large underground burrows. Their burrows contain many tunnels and chambers as deep as 2 m (6.5 ft.). Some chambers are used for sleeping and some are used as bathrooms!

Living in burrows helps protect meerkats from the harsh desert sun and keeps them safe from predators, including hawks, eagles, snakes and jackals.

Meerkats live in large underground burrows in the Kalahari Desert. Photo by fivepointsix / iStock.com.

Sentry

One of the most important roles a meerkat plays is that of the sentry, or watch guard.

One meerkat will stand on its hind legs outside the burrow, propped up by its tail, and act as a lookout. The rest of the mob can then look for food and frolick in the sun.

The lookout scans the area for predators. If a predator is spotted, the guard lets out a distinctive bark. At the sound of the warning bark, everyone sprints to the nearest tunnel entrance.

A meerkat sentry keeping watch in the Kalahari Desert, South Africa. Photo by EcoPic / iStock.com.

The sentry is the first to emerge from the burrow to check if the coast is clear.

Life in the Desert

Meerkats are specially adapted to living in the harsh desert environment.

Dark patches around their eyes help them be effective lookouts by reducing the glare of the sun, much like a baseball player who paints dark lines beneath his eyes.

Meerkat in the Kalahari, Namibia. Photo by namibelephant / iStock.com.

Their eyes also allow them to take in a wide angle view of the scene. This helps prevent predators from gaining an advantage by sneaking up.

Meerkats also possess special adaptations to help them burrow. Their eyes have a clear protective membrane that shields them from dirt while digging. Their ears also close tightly to keep dirt out.

Meerkats have light brown fur with a gray and brown tint to it with stripes on their back. Their dark-skinned bellies are covered with only a thin layer of fur, allowing the meerkats warm themselves by lying face up in the sun.

What Meerkats Eat

Eating both plants and animals, meerkats are omnivores. Their diet mostly consists of insects, which they sniff out using their enhanced sense of smell.

They also eat small rodents, fruit, birds, eggs, lizards, and even poisonous scorpions. They can catch a scorpion and pull off its deadly stinger in the blink of an eye.

Because they have very little fat to store energy, meerkats forage and hunt every day.

Helpful to the Ecosystem

Meerkats play an important part in maintaining ecological harmony in the desert. They provide food for predators like jackals and eagles, and they curb pest infestation by eating insects.

Reproduction

The dominant couple (and subordinate pairs) will produce 2-4 pups a year. Other group members will babysit the pups, even feeding them milk.

Meerkat adults and pups in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Kalahari Desert. Photo by Gaston Piccinetti / iStock.com.

Because survival of the pups is vital to sustaining their social unit, meerkats have been known to risk their lives trying to protect the young.

In the wild, meerkats live about 5-15 years.

Conservation Status

The meerkat is classified as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List.

What You Can Do to Help

You can help meerkats by spreading awareness of their vital role in the Kalahari’s ecological balance. You can also symbolically adopt a meerkat from the WWF.

Meerkat Range

Meerkats depend on group cooperation for survival in Africa’s Kalahari Desert.

More Meerkat Resources

• Meerkats.net
• Fellow Earthlings Wildlife Center
• How Stuff Works – Meerkats
• National Geographic’s Meerkat Page

More Meerkat Stuff from Animal Fact Guide

• Free Meerkats Coloring Page (PDF)
• Free Meerkat Maze (PDF)

Quick Fact Sheet

Common Name(s): Meerkat, Suricat

Scientific Name: Suricata suricatta

Animal Type: mammal

Size: 30 cm (12 in.) tall

Weight: 620 to 969 g (1.4 to 2.1 lb.)

Lifespan: 5-15 years

Conservation Status: Least Concern

About the Author

P.A. Smith is a middle school Language Arts teacher. He is also a contributing editor of My House Rabbit.

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