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This article is about the mammal. For other uses, see Meerkat (disambiguation).
"Meerkats" redirects here. For the 2008 British film, see The Meerkats.
"Suricata" redirects here. For the intrusion detection system, see Suricata (software).
Meerkat (Suricata suricatta) Tswalu.jpg
Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Herpestidae
Genus: Suricata
Desmarest, 1804
Species: S. suricatta
Binomial name
Suricata suricatta
(Schreber, 1776)
Meerkat Area.svg
Meerkat range

The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family (Herpestidae). It is the only member of the genus Suricata.[2] Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild.





The meerkat is a small diurnal herpestid (mongoose) weighing on average about 731 grams (1.612 lb) for males and 720 grams (1.59 lb) for females. Its long slender body and limbs give it a body length of 25 to 35 centimetres (9.8 to 13.8 in) and an added tail length of 17 to 25 centimetres (6.7 to 9.8 in). Its tail is not bushy like many other mongoose species, but is rather long and thin and tapers to a black or reddish colored pointed tip. The meerkat uses its tail to balance when standing upright, as well as for signaling. Its face tapers, coming to a point at the nose, which is brown. The eyes always have black patches around them, and they have small black crescent-shaped ears that can close to exclude soil when digging. Like cats, meerkats have binocular vision, a large peripheral range, depth perception, and eyes on the front of their faces.


Diet and foraging behaviour

Meerkat killing an elephant shrew, as illustrated in Brehm's Life of Animals
Digging for insects, Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, South Africa
Meerkat in Namibia eating a frog

Meerkats are primarily insectivores, but also eat other animals (lizards, snakes, scorpions, spiders, plants, eggs, small mammals, millipedes, centipedes and, more rarely, small birds) and fungi (the desert truffle Kalaharituber pfeilii[3]). Meerkats are immune to certain types of venom, including the very strong venom of the scorpions of the Kalahari Desert, unlike humans.[4] They have no excess body fat stores, so foraging for food is a daily need.

Meerkats forage in a group with one "sentry" on guard watching for predators while the others search for food. Sentry duty is usually approximately an hour long. A meerkat can dig through a quantity of sand equal to its own weight in just seconds.[5] Baby meerkats do not start foraging for food until they are about 1 month old, and do so by following an older member of the group who acts as the pup's tutor.[6] The meerkat standing guard makes peeping sounds when all is well. If the meerkat spots danger, it barks loudly or whistles.


The main animals that prey on meerkats are martial eagles and jackals. Meerkats sometimes die of snakebite in confrontations with snakes (puff adders and Cape cobras), but the snake does not then eat the meerkat.












Like many species, meerkat young learn by observing and mimicking adult behaviour, though adults also engage in active instruction. For example, meerkat adults teach their pups how to eat a venomous scorpion: they will remove the stinger and help the pup learn how to handle the creature.[7]



Meerkat calls may carry specific meanings, with particular calls indicating the type of predator and the urgency of the situation. In addition to alarm calls, meerkats also make panic calls, recruitment calls, and moving calls. They chirrup, trill, growl, or bark, depending on the circumstances.[9] Meerkats make different alarm calls depending upon whether they see an aerial or a terrestrial predator. Moreover, acoustic characteristics of the call will change with the urgency of the potential predatory episode. Therefore, six different predatory alarm calls with six different meanings have been identified: aerial predator with low, medium, and high urgency; and terrestrial predator with low, medium, and high urgency. Meerkats respond differently after hearing a terrestrial predator alarm call than after hearing an aerial predator alarm call. For example, upon hearing a high-urgency terrestrial predator alarm call, meerkats are most likely to seek shelter and scan the area. On the other hand, upon hearing a high-urgency aerial predator alarm call, meerkats are most likely to crouch down. On many occasions under these circumstances, they also look towards the sky.[10]

Meerkat groups

Meerkat Family in Stuttgart Zoo Wilhelma





There are three subspecies of meerkat:[2]

  • Suricata suricatta siricata
  • Suricata suricatta iona
  • Suricata suricatta majoriae



Popular culture

See also


  1. ^ Macdonald, D. & Hoffmann, M. (2008). Suricata suricatta. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 22 March 2009. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is of least concern.
  2. ^ a b Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). "Suricata". Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. 
  4. ^ David Attenborough, 2000. Meerkats United
  5. ^ "LadyWildLife". LadyWildLife. 2012-11-09. Retrieved 2014-05-24. 
  6. ^ By Deborah • December 7, 2007 (2007-12-07). "Mighty Masked Meerkat Mobs". Retrieved 2013-11-19. [dead link]
  7. ^ Thornton, Alex; McAuliffe, Katherine (14 July 2006). "Teaching in wild meerkats". Science 313 (5784): 227–229. doi:10.1126/science.1128727. PMID 16840701. Retrieved 2007-01-23. 
  8. ^ Norris, Scott (2006-03-15). "Murderous meerkat moms contradict caring image, study finds". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2012-05-25. 
  9. ^ Manser, Marta; Fletcher, Lindsay (2004). "Vocalize to localize: A test on functionally referential alarm calls". Interaction Studies 5 (3): 327–344. doi:10.1075/is.5.3.02man. Retrieved 2010-07-01. 
  10. ^ Manser, Marta B.; Bell, Matthew B.; Fletcher, Lindsay B. (2001-12-07). "The information that receivers extract from alarm calls in suricates". Proceedings B (The Royal Society) 268 (1484). doi:10.1098/rspb.2001.1772. 
  11. ^ "Meerkat adverts lead to surge in unwanted pets". BBC. 2 June 2010. 
  12. ^ "Meerkat info". Retrieved 24 October 2011. 

Further reading

External links