meerkat - sfzoodocents.org · dutch meerkat and german meerkatze mean "guenon", a monkey...

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Weight: M: 1.3 - 1.75 lbs F: 1.3 - 2.0 lbs Length: 9 - 13.5 inches TL: 7 - 9.75 in Range: Kalahari Desert region of Southern Africa, SW Angola, Namibia, Botswana and S. Africa Habitat: Semi-arid, hard or stony open country, savanna and grasslands Niche: Terrestrial, diurnal, primarily carnivorous with some omnivorous tendencies Wild diet: Scorpions, beetles, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, worms, crickets, small mammals & reptiles, bird’s eggs roots and tubers Zoo diet: Life Span: (Wild) 10 years (Captivity) Sexual dimorphism: slightly larger F from M Location in SF Zoo: Children’s zoo APPEARANCE & PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS: Meerkats are light grizzled gray to camouflage against the dry dusty earth. The rear portion of the back is marked with black transverse bars. The head is almost white, the ears are black, and the tail is yellowish with a black tip. The coat is long and soft with dark rufous under-fur used to warm up. The body is quite slender which helps them slip quickly into their burrow when danger threatens. The forefeet have four very long, strong claws for digging. The long tail is used like the third leg of a tripod to aid balance when they stand upright for long periods on sentry duty. They have keen eyesight and good color vision. Dark coloration surrounds the eyes and act as natural sunglasses. They can stare hard into bright sky and spot birds of prey at great distances. Oval pupils are elongated horizontally, giving a wide view of their surroundings. Scent glands peripheral to the anus, open into a pouch that presumably stores secretions. STATUS & CONSERVATION Mongooses as a group appear at this point not to be affected by human activities. MEERKAT CARNIVORA Family: Herpestidae Genus: Suricata Species: suricatta

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Page 1: MEERKAT - sfzoodocents.org · Dutch meerkat and German Meerkatze mean "guenon", a monkey of the Cercopithecus genus. The word "meerkat" looks like Dutch for "Lake Cat", but neither

Weight: M: 1.3 - 1.75 lbs F: 1.3 - 2.0 lbs Length: 9 - 13.5 inches TL: 7 - 9.75 in

Range: Kalahari Desert region of Southern Africa, SW Angola, Namibia, Botswana and S. Africa Habitat: Semi-arid, hard or stony open country, savanna and grasslands Niche: Terrestrial, diurnal, primarily carnivorous with some omnivorous tendencies Wild diet: Scorpions, beetles, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, worms, crickets, small mammals & reptiles, bird’s eggs roots and tubers Zoo diet: Life Span: (Wild) 10 years (Captivity) Sexual dimorphism: slightly larger F from M Location in SF Zoo: Children’s zoo APPEARANCE & PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS: Meerkats are light grizzled gray to camouflage against the dry dusty earth. The rear portion of the back is marked with black transverse bars. The head is almost white, the ears are black, and the tail is yellowish with a black tip. The coat is long and soft with dark rufous under-fur used to warm up. The body is quite slender which helps them slip quickly into their burrow when danger threatens. The forefeet have four very long, strong claws for digging. The long tail is used like the third leg of a tripod to aid balance when they stand upright for long periods on sentry duty. They have keen eyesight and good color vision. Dark coloration surrounds the eyes and act as natural sunglasses. They can stare hard into bright sky and spot birds of prey at great distances. Oval pupils are elongated horizontally, giving a wide view of their surroundings. Scent glands peripheral to the anus, open into a pouch that presumably stores secretions. STATUS & CONSERVATION Mongooses as a group appear at this point not to be affected by human activities.

MEERKAT CARNIVORA

Family: Herpestidae Genus: Suricata Species: suricatta

Page 2: MEERKAT - sfzoodocents.org · Dutch meerkat and German Meerkatze mean "guenon", a monkey of the Cercopithecus genus. The word "meerkat" looks like Dutch for "Lake Cat", but neither

COMMUNICATION AND OTHER BEHAVIOR Meerkats live in large communities of more than one family, usually 5 - 30 members is called a “mob” or a “gang”. Using their sharp claws, they dig huge burrows with tunnel systems for the colony. They may share a burrow with ground squirrels and yellow mongooses. The mob use a common latrine. Each member has a job that they tend to alternate with others. Babysitter - Stays with the pups while the gang is out foraging for food, and are 6 months or older. The alpha female never baby-sits. Sentries - Watches over the gang to spot danger. It is either done standing on the ground or climbing a tree or bush. There is a sentry on watch both at the burrow system as well as when the gang is foraging for food. Hunters - Teachers - go one-on-one with juveniles to show them how to hunt COURTSHIP AND YOUNG The alpha male is the dominate male of the gang and has breeding rights to the alpha female. The dominate male is not necessarily decided by the largest male in the gang. The alpha female is the dominate female of the gang, all betas are subservient to her. She is the one that is supposed to breed in the gang. Beta males and females are subservient and leave the gang by 3 years in search of better breeding opportunities. They will be driven temporally from the gang by the alpha female when she is ready to get pregnant. Gestation: 11 weeks Sexual Maturity: 10 months

# of Mammae: 3 pair Weaning Age: 7 - 9 weeks

# of Young: 2-4 Weight at birth: 3/4 - 1/1/2 0z

MISCELLANEOUS Meerkat" is an English loan word from Afrikaans. The name came from Dutch but by misidentification. Dutch meerkat and German Meerkatze mean "guenon", a monkey of the Cercopithecus genus. The word "meerkat" looks like Dutch for "Lake Cat", but neither suricatas nor guenons are attracted to lakes. The traders of the Dutch East India Company were likely familiar with monkeys, but the Dutch settlers attached the name to the wrong animal. The suricata is called stokstaartje = "little stick-tail" in Dutch and Erdmännchen = "little earth-man" in German.

According to African popular belief (mainly in the Zambian/Zimbabwean region), the Meerkat is also known as the ‘sun angel’, as it protects villages from the ‘moon devil’ (or werewolf) which is believed to attack stray cattle or lone tribesmen.

Sources: Last Revision: 6/28/2000 Present Rev: 6/29/2007 Walkers © 1999 Vol. 1 Africa - Environment & Wildlife © 1997 #4 http://www.meercats.com http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Suricata_suricatta.html