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I love Meerkats they are so funny to watch – not that I have seen them in the wild -only in animal parks.
They actually live in gangs of about 30 in the Kalahari Desert, where temperatures soar in the day and plummet at night. At dawn they stand or sit in the sun to warm up, the dark skin on their stomachs absorbs the heat. Shelter is hard to come by in the desert so have 6 -10 burrows in their territory (up to 15 sq km). They protect their territory and burrows from other mobs fiercely. They have a breeding burrow where pups are born and raised for their first three weeks until their mothers go to hunt, then they are taken outside to be cared for by a “baby sitter“ female.
One always stands as a sentry while others hunt , if there is danger from predators such as hawks and Jackals it will bark or gives sharp growls as a warning and dives for cover. They eat insects, fruit, worms, birds eggs, mice and plant roots – they are particularly fond of larvae. They have been known to eat scorpions and are thought to be immune from their deadly venom. Search for food to survive is so important as they lose 5% of their body weight over night.
I don’t expect they are as cute as they seem, with those sharp teeth and claws but I can stand and watch them for hours.
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