Meerkat (Suricata suricatta)

Meerkats are social mongooses that spend a lot of their time on guard, looking out for predators. They live in colonies of up to 30 members and can be quite comical as they pop up to swap guard duty and look like they're going to fall over like dominoes as they get tired.

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About the Meerkat

The meerkat or suricate Suricata suricatta is a small mammal and a member of the mongoose family. It inhabits all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats at a time, but some superfamilies have had 50 or more. Meerkats have an average life span of 12 to 14 years.

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Scientific Classification

Class: Mammal (Mammalia)

Order: Carnivora

Family: Herpestidae

Genus: Suricata

Species: Meerkat (suricatta)

Common Names

Suricate

Where can I see them?

Map showing the distribution of the Meerkat species

This region contains the following habitats:

Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder

Conservation Status

The Meerkat is Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Population trend: Unknown

Year assessed: 2008

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