Meerkat, Standing

Meerkat, StandingMeerkats are members of the mongoose family. They are native to The Kalahari Desert, South Africa and Botswana. They are burrowers who live underground in a large network of tunnels which has many entrances and exits and is often shared with ground squirrels and the Yellow Mongoose. They are diurnal and live in groups of around twenty to thirty members although super-sized groups of fifty or more do exist. The collective name for these little mammals is a 'clan', 'mob' or 'gang'.

Meerkats have long slender bodies with a coat colouration range of fawn-silver-orange-brown. Their backs have short parallel stripes from their shoulders to the base of their tails. Tails are long, thin and tapered measuring around 17-25cms and have a reddish or black tip. A characteristic pose for a Meerkat is standing absolutely bolt upright using its tail to balance. Their under-belly has an area of black skin with a sparse covering of hair. When exposed to sunlight the dark skin helps to capture warmth - quite important on extremely chilly mornings before the day has begun to warm up. Each of a Meerkat's four fingers has a curved non-retractable claw and these claws are used for digging burrows and foraging for prey.

A Meerkat's face is tapered down towards its pointed nose. Its eyes are front-facing and surrounded by black patches which help to deflect the glare of the sun. The ears are small and crescent shaped and can cleverly close down when the animal is digging thus preventing the ears from filling with sand. Meerkats have a body length of 25-35cms, males weigh approximately 730grams and females 720grams. At around the age of one year these animals will generally have their first litter of three to four pups and they can have up to four litters a year.

To enable their group to safely forage for food, play or snatch a nap, one or two Meerkats take on sentry duty and keep an eye out for predators. They will often climb a tree, using their hind claws to grip, in order to have a good overview of their territory. It is thought they have specific warning calls which identify the type of approaching  predator, e.g. 'snake!'. If necessary the sentry will raise the alarm by whistling or barking loudly. All colony members will immediately run to bolt holes until the sentry - who is first to come out of hiding - gives the all clear. As he leaves the burrow he continues barking loudly and stops as soon as he deems the area safe and secure. Meerkats are also extremely territorial and will fiercely defend their home against other marauding Meerkat gangs. They are very social altruistic creatures and are actively protective of other members within their group. The role of babysitting the youngsters is conscientiously taken on by a female. If the danger alarm is raised by the sentry and the babysitter is unable to reach a burrow with her charges, she will gather them all together and lie on top of them.

Although described as primarily insectivorous Meerkats are also partial to snakes, lizards, spiders and scorpions, small mammals, millipedes and centipedes as well as eggs and plants. They are fortunately immune to certain venoms and, unlike humans, that includes being immune to the very strong venom of the Kalahari Desert scorpion.

How can we fail to be captivated by these fascinating little creatures? The 'simple' answer is, we can't, we love them!

Toys That Teach A great part of Hansa's mission is to educate children and adults alike about the world's animals and so, as well as being very close plush recreations of the original, every Hansa toy comes with a 'Toys That Teach' tag, which describes each animal's:

- Habitat
- Lifestyle
- Gestation period
- Care of young
- Eating habits

So you not only get a wonderful soft toy but also an understanding of the animal and its behaviour in its very own kingdom.