Meerkat Manor

MEERKAT “MANNERS”… 

Standing tall at just 12 inches high, the meerkat is a small masked mammal that thrives in one of the hottest and driest places on Earth. 

A member of the mongoose family, this cute, precocious and highly social creature can be tough enough to kill a cobra.

VITAL STATISTICS

Vision: Color – the dark eye markings act like built-in sunglasses.

Feet: Non-retractable claws

Ears: Closeable

Height: 12 inches

Weight: Two pounds

Light-Absorbency: Called the “Solar Panel of the Animal World,” meerkats use their dark-skinned sparsely furred bellies to warm up.

Tail: Eight inches long and used as a tripod to balance the animal in an upright position.

Activity: diurnal (active during the day)

Lifespan: 10 - 12 years but in the wild 3-4 years is more usual unless the meerkat becomes dominant.

Society: A group of meerkats, usually five to 30 members, is called a “group.”

HOME LIFE

Species Range: Southern Africa/Kalahari Desert 2-5km²

Dwelling: burrows are shared with ground squirrels and yellow mongooses; each group has 2-6 separate burrows in their home range.

Transience: Territory usually well defined and stable

Competitiveness: Meerkats are very territorial and will fiercely defend their home from other meerkat groups.

MEERKAT PREDATORS

Guardianship: Meerkats are “snack size” for a number of animals, so one always stands guard while the others forage or nap.

Primary Predators: martial eagles and jackals

911: Various alarm calls indicate different predators.

MEERKAT ROMANCE

Specialization: Alpha female dominant over all group members.

Litter Size: Two to five pups

Gestation: 11 weeks

Breeding Season: October-April in the wild; year-round in captivity

Co-operative behaviour: Subordinate females commonly suckle pups born to the dominant female.  All group members baby sit, feed, carry and protect dominant females pups.

Precociousness: sexually mature at one year

MEERKAT FOOD

Diet: Scorpions (meerkats are immune to their venom), beetles, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, worms, crickets, small mammals, small reptiles, birds and eggs.

*All information from www.meerkats.com

TV Entertainment Magazine

Meerkat Manor -
Complete First Season
(4 DVD Set)

This is a documentary drama series which follows a meerkat family in the Kalahari Desert, South Africa, called the Whiskers.
• Plot Synopsis: This is a documentary drama series which follows a meerkat family in the Kalahari Desert, South Africa, called the Whiskers. Flower is the leader/dominant female of the group, Zaphod is her partner and dominant male, Youssarian is Zaphod's younger brother and Flower's ex-lover and Mozart, Tosca and Shakespeare are all children of Flower. In our journey with this group we'll follow several intriguing events like: Fights with arch rival group the Lazuli; storms; death; family politics and the disappearance of a meerkat we had gotten to know very well.

• Studio: Discovery Channel
• DVD Release Date: December 1, 2006