Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Photo: A young meerkat nestles with its adult caretakers.

All adult meerkats—male and female—pitch in to help educate the young in hunting and survival techniques.

Photograph by Mattias Klum

Map

Map: Meerkat range

Meerkat Range

Fast Facts

Type:
Mammal
Diet:
Omnivore
Size:
Head and body, 9.75 to 11.75 in (25 to 30 cm); tail, 7.5 to 9.5 in (19 to 24 cm)
Weight:
Less than 2.2 lbs (1 kg)
Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:
Illustration: Meerkat compared with adult man

These gregarious animals are often seen in groups, and several families may live together in a large community. Squirrel-sized meerkats are mongooses famed for their upright posture. They often stand on their rear legs and gaze alertly over the southern African plains where they live. Mothers can even nurse their young while standing.

Meerkats (also called suricates) work together in numbers. A few will typically serve as lookouts, watching the skies for birds of prey, such as hawks and eagles, that can snatch them from the ground. A sharp, shrill call is the signal for all to take cover. While a few individuals guard the group, the rest busy themselves foraging for the foods that make up their varied diet. Meerkats will eat insects, lizards, birds, and fruit. When hunting small game, they work together and communicate with purring sounds. Meerkats are good hunters and are sometimes tamed for use as rodent-catchers.

Meerkat groups utilize several different burrows and move from one to another. Each burrow is an extensive tunnel-and-room system that remains cool even under the broiling African sun. Females give birth to two to four young each year in one of the group's burrows. Fathers and siblings help to raise meerkat young, teaching them to play and forage and alerting them to the ever present danger from above. Young meerkats are so fearful of predatory birds that even airplanes will send them diving for cover.

Mammal Videos

More Videos »

More Small Mammals

Mammal Features

  • Graphic: Howling Mouse iPad App

    Howling Mouse App

    Meet the cutest, deadliest critter to have its own app!

  • Photo: Lion bares his teeth

    Cause an Uproar

    Big cats are quickly disappearing. Now is the time to act. Cause an uproar to save big cats today.

  • Photo: A lion cub sitting in tall grass

    Big Cat Cub Pictures

    The world’s top felines—including lions, tigers, cheetahs, and leopards—are slipping toward extinction. Browse this gallery of big cat cubs and learn more about the threats they face.

  • Photo: Panda chewing on bamboo

    Endangered Animals Quiz

    The loss of animal species is irreversible and potentially catastrophic, not to mention heartrendingly sad. Where do we stand? Face the facts with this quiz.

Shop National Geographic

big-cats-collection-dvd--s100x100.jpg

SHOP NOW »

Cause an Uproar

Animals

Newsletters

National Geographic Magazine

  • Photo: Harlequin colored Great Dane

    How to Build a Dog

    Scientists have found the secret recipe behind the spectacular variety of dog shapes and sizes, and it could help unravel the complexity of human genetic disease.

  • Photo: Bloodhound, German shorthaired pointer, and Sussex spaniel

    Dog DNA Photo Gallery

    Scientists have found the secret recipe behind the spectacular variety of dog shapes and sizes, and it could help unravel the complexity of human genetic disease.

More From National Geographic