Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

Easy (Polyandrous)

The **Meerkat** (*Suricata suricatta*) is a small African mongoose featured in the Africa Pack DLC for *Planet Zoo*.

## Zoopedia Description

### General

**Population in the Wild:** Unknown

The meerkat is a species of social mongoose that is found in complex underground burrows in the savannahs and semi-deserts of Southern Africa. It lives in family packs and is considered to be ´eusocial´, meaning it is highly socially organized and pack members have strongly defined roles within their group. Meerkats have a flat, pointed head a colored face with black eyes and ears. They have a mottled pattern of grey and yellow fur on their back and a pointed, black-tipped tail. Meerkats move on all fours but assume a distinctive stance on their hind legs when alert. The meerkat has a head-body length of 9.6 into 14in and weighs between 21.7oz and 33.95oz. Females tend to be heavier than males. The meerkat is not endangered.

### Social

Meerkats are a highly social species and should never be kept alone. Ideally, meerkats should live in family packs to replicate the social structure that exists in the wild.

### Reproduction

In a meerkat pack, there is an alpha female who will give birth to most of the pups in the pack. Subordinate females occasionally reproduce, but their young will be at risk of being killed by the alpha. Subordinate females are more likely to reproduce in highly productive times when there is plenty of food available.

To initiate mating, a male will fight with the alpha female, and she will attempt to fight him off. Fighting can be quite rough with grabbing and face nipping. If the male wins the fight, he will grab the female round the middle and mate with her. After a pregnancy of 60 to 70 days, the female will give birth to 3 to 7 pups.

The pups remain in the den until they are 16 days old, where they are protected and fed by the alpha female as well as other pack members. Between 16 and 26 days old, the pups will venture to the entrance of the den and may be seen playing there. At 25 days old, they will begin foraging with the adults who will teach them how to hunt different types of prey. An example of this is how adults teach young to pull the sting off scorpions before eating them. Pups are weaned between 7 and 9 weeks old. By 12 weeks old, pups are independent and can forage without help. Juveniles will reach sexual maturity between 2 and 3 years old

Males will migrate from their natal group when they reach sexual maturity and go in search of an unrelated pack or an unattached female with which to start their own pack. Females are more likely to remain with their natal pack because they have the possibility of ascending through the ranks to be alpha female one day. However, if a subordinate female challenges the alpha female and loses, she will be ousted from the pack. The alpha female is determined by age and size. But younger females will vie for this position when the previous alpha becomes too old to defend her status.

## Animal care

 FEEDING STATIONS
 FOOD ENRICHMENT
Termite Mound · Bamboo Feeder · Slow Feeder
Water Jet · Water Jet Rock · Bubble Machine · Sprinkler · Tennis Ball · Tunnel

## Trivia

### Zoopedia Fun Facts

* The teeth and front claws of the meerkat are adapted for digging and it can close its ears and nostrils to prevent dirt from entering them
* Meerkats will mob and sometimes kill snakes that enter their territory.
* In some areas of South Africa, meerkats are kept on farmland to act as pest control due to their ability to effectively kill rodents and pest insects.
* Meerkat females have a hierarchy of social rank, with the oldest and largest females usually assuming the role of alpha.
* Meerkat packs have ´sentries´ that give different alarm calls to warn their pack mates of different predators.

### Other

* This was the first animal revealed for the Africa Pack DLC.