Meerkat Postcard

Meerkats are small burrowing animals that live in large underground networks with multiple entrances. They come out during the day time. Meerkats are highly social. They live in large groups called mobs, which can consist of three familial groups with up to 30 individuals. When one meerkat stands up and acts as a lookout for predators or danger, it is called sentinel behavior. The sentinel will call with a bark to alert the others of nearby threats. A meerkat is about 1-foot tall and weighs about 1.5 pounds. Meerkats are immune to certain venoms such as the venom from the scorpions of the Kalahari Desert. Meerkats are found in areas of open savannah and open plains in southern Africa and the Kalahari Desert. Meerkats eat mostly insects and arachnids, centipedes and millipedes, but also eat small reptiles, eggs and plant material.