Desert · Mammal
Meerkat
Suricata suricatta
Meerkats live in family groups of up to 50. While the others look for food, one stands up on its back legs and keeps watch.
- Where it lives
- The Kalahari Desert in southern Africa
- Diet
- InsectivoreEats insects
- Weight
- 0.6–1 kg
- Height
- 30 cm
- Top speed
- 30 km/h
- Lifespan (wild)
- 6–10 years
In Pawpedia: What is a mammal?What is an insectivore?
Yaman scale
Drawn side by side with Yaman, to the same scale.
Height5×= 1 Yaman
It would take about 5 of them to match Yaman's height (height 30 cm).
Weight44×= 1 Yaman
It would take about 44 of them to weigh as much as Yaman.
Common questions
Where does the meerkat live?
- The Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. In our zoo it lives in the Desert zone.
What does the meerkat eat?
- It is a insectivore: it eats insects.
How big does the meerkat get?
- Height: 30 cm. It weighs 0.6–1 kg.
How long does the meerkat live?
- 6–10 years in the wild.
How fast is the meerkat?
- It can reach about 30 km/h.
Is the meerkat endangered?
- On the IUCN Red List it is listed as least concern. Plenty of them in the wild.
Did you know?
- The sentry makes different alarm calls for different kinds of danger.
- The dark rings around its eyes reduce glare, like sunglasses.
- They can eat scorpions and are partly resistant to the venom.
How safe is it?
- LC
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Least concern. Plenty of them in the wild.
IUCN Red List
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