Meerkat
Scientific name
Suricata suricatta
Size and weight
50 to 60 cm long
0.6 to 1 kg
Diet
Invertebrates, eggs, birds, roots, bulbs, snakes, scorpions
Conservation status
Least concern
Native habitat
Dry grasslands of southern Africa
Lifespan
Up to 20 years
Meet our meerkats
Our mob of meerkats are one big family. They are very nosey and like to watch visitors coming and going. It can be hard to tell who is who, but their behaviour helps tell them apart. Wolfie is the nosiest, Stumpy is the greediest, Worzel is the sleepiest and Jessie is the bossiest!
We keep them busy and happy with lots of enrichment activities. They love digging tunnels in the sand, hunting for food hidden around their enclosure, and exploring balls, boxes and other toys. They even enjoy bacon-flavoured bubbles! Sometimes, they just chill out and sunbathe.
Meerkats have a fascinating lifestyle and social structure, which our visitors learn about during the public talks and feeds given by our keepers. You can also book an up close and personal experience with our meerkat mob on the link below.
About meerkats
Meerkats are small mongooses and live in family groups called mobs, gangs or clans. Each mob is ruled by a dominant pair. The head female is called the ‘queen’ and is a slightly higher rank than the dominant male.
Everyone in the mob has a job, whether it’s babysitting, keeping watch, or hunting. One meerkat will stand on a high point to watch for predators and sing a special song to let the others know everything’s fine.
Meerkats are immune to most snake venoms, which helps when hunting snakes but they still have to be careful with scorpions, one of their favourite foods. They dance around the scorpion until it’s tired, then quickly bite off its tail and eat it.
Did you know?
- they dig tunnels to sleep in together at night
- meerkats have great eyesight and the dark fur round their eyes helps them see in the bright sunshine
- they live in very hot and dry environments. Their thin hair keeps them cool but if they get too chilly, they sunbathe to warm up
- meerkats can make over 10 different calls, including specific ones for predators like eagles, snakes, and leopards
- they don’t drink water – they get all the liquid they need from the animals and plants they eat
