How to Identify a Meerkat

The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) is a small mammal that is native to the Kalahari Desert in Southern Africa. It is a member of the mongoose (Herpestidae) family and lives in clans of 20 individuals. The following steps will show how to identify a meerkat.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Look at the meerkat's general appearance. Its slender body of about 1 ft. in length is typical for mongooses. Meerkats have a gray or tan coat with a pale belly. The eyes have black rings around them and the tail has a black tip.

2. Determine the meerkat's native habitat. Meerkats may be found in the deserts, grasslands and scrub forests of Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

3. Examine the meerkat's diet. They are primarily insectivores but also may eat small reptiles, eggs and even vegetation. Meerkats must forage for food daily because they do not store fat. They are especially fond of scorpions and have developed a strong resistance to strong venom.

4. Observe the meerkat's reproductive habits. They give birth to a litter of two to five pups after a gestation of 2.5 months. The young are weaned in eight weeks and are sexually mature at 1 year old. Courtship consists primarily of ritual grooming of the female by the male.

5. Study the meerkat's social behavior. A meerkat clan usually consists of two or three families with adults taking turns as sentries throughout the day. The sentry makes a peeping sound if all is well and barks when a predator approaches. The clan then retreats to its underground burrow.