M is for Meerkat

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The meerkat is in the mongoose family and lives in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, the Namib Desert in Namibia, southwestern Angola and South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a mob, gang or clan. There are 20-50 meerkats in a gang. They live to be 6-7 years old in the wild. They weigh up to 5.5 lbs. and measure 14-20 inches plus 10 inches for the tail. They use their claws for digging burrows, looking for food, climbing trees and creating dust clouds to distract a predator. Their coats are peppered gray, tan or brown with silver, with short parallel stripes across their backs. Their bellies have a patch sparsely covered with hair and black skin. They will stand on their hind legs early in the morning after a cold desert night. The black patch of skin will absorb the heat from the sun. They also stand on their rear legs when they do sentry duty. A meerkat is an insectivore but will eat lizards, snakes, scorpions, spiders eggs, small mammals, millipedes and centipedes. They are immune to the sting of a scorpion. Their enemies are martial eagles, tawny eagles and jackals. They can also die of puff adder and Cape cobra bites. Photo Credit: Pixabay