Merry Meerkats, Me & My Mates Trivia Quiz

Answer: South Africa

Meerkats live in the southern part of Africa which is largely covered by the Kalahari Desert. In addition to South Africa, the Kalahari is in Namibia, Angola, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. As suggested by the name 'desert', there isn't much rainfall on the Kalahari. During the 'rainy' season, which is usually 12 inches in a couple of months that has to last the rest of the year, shrubs and flowers and plants of all type cover the desert floor which is over one million square miles.

Answer: False

Meerkats and prairie dogs aren't related. Meerkats are part of the mongoose family. But for the most part, they are very different, more like kissing cousins than brother and sister. For one thing, most mongooses aren't social and don't live in large groups. Meerkats live in large groups, are very social, have an extensive vocabulary and depend on everyone in the group for survival. Most mongooses are nocturnal. Meerkats are not. Meerkats forage for food for much of the day.

Answer: Bugs Are Us - all varieties of insects, worms, spiders - served warm and on the run

Meerkats spend much of their time looking for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They love bugs and insects of all type. They sometimes will burrow the length of their body just to find a snack. They also like lizards, rodents, snails, and spiders. Meerkats aren't opposed to eating an occasional bird egg if one should fall their way, also fruit is not off the menu but rather difficult to find.

They have claws that can be used to climb trees if necessary. They adore scorpions and seem to have immunity to the stinger. Small snakes aren't safe around a hungry meerkat either.

Answer: about the size of a prairie dog, with a long thin tail, 4 digits, non-retractable claws, short fur

Meerkats are about the size of a prairie dog (12") but they have tails that are almost the length (9") of their long, thin bodies. The tail is used to help them balance; they stand on their hind legs much of the time. Their bodies are slim (weigh about 2 pounds), they have a low metabolism.

Their hair or fur is short, much better for getting all the sand out of since they spend so much time digging, sleeping, eating and playing in sand. They have dark patches under their eyes that help with reflections off the desert floor.

Their short fur ranges in color but mostly matches the sand around them. They are able to hide from some enemies by lying still in the desert and camouflaging themselves.

Answer: The alpha female is usually the only one allowed to have pups

The leader of a mob or clan of meerkats doesn't necessarily have to be female, the leader can be an alpha male but he will be mostly monogamous with an alpha female. The alpha female should be the only one to increase the size of the clan by having pups. If something would happen to the alpha female, her sisters might vie for the alpha position.

These fights with clanswomen can be damaging or even lead to death. If females other than alphas have pups, the leader or others may decide to eat the unwanted pups. If this isn't done, the offending female may be ostracized, made to leave the clan and her pups. Very young pups can't care for themselves and die of starvation or are grabbed by predators.

Answer: gestation lasts a couple of months

Meerkats are considered mature at one year old and may start reproducing after that. Gestation for a meerkat is about eleven weeks. Females may have as many as four litters per year but two is normal. Litters may be as small as one, as large at six but three is normal.

The pups have very little hair and their eyes are closed. For the first two to three weeks, they stay in the burrow and feed off mother's milk or another female if they are lactating. The pups venture out of the burrow after a couple of weeks and the mother is able to forage for food while a babysitter keeps an eye on the babies.

After about six weeks, the babies no longer need milk and do some foraging with adults. When adults find food, the pups cry and cause a ruckus until the adults give in and give up the food.

After four months or so, the pups are must find their own food.

Answer: finding water under the surface for bathing

Meerkats don't really like water. If it is raining and they aren't starving, they would prefer to stay in their burrow and not forage for food. They get the moisture they need from the foods that they eat.
The normal day starts with the alpha pair coming out to greet the day. They sit on a dune and face the sun to warm their bodies. As more emerge, they scatter out, resting on their hind legs, standing occasionally, looking about. Sentries are posted.
Pups come out to play. Babysitters stay close by and try to keep up with the little ones.
One by one, more meerkats emerge; sit facing the sun and start grooming the meerkat nearest to them. Occasionally they eat a flea or tick found on their family member.
Some of the family enjoys play fighting or wrestling with each other. This helps with the socialization and as they get older, may help to establish dominance.
Once everyone is out and about, the alpha leader will set off in a direction to look for food and the adults will follow. The babysitter(s) stay behind with the pups. Individuals take turns with sentry duty.

Answer: We have to fight our own kind sometimes for territory and food.

All meerkats don't look the same. Fur colors range from orange to gray. Besides, meerkats don't use features like banded eyes, spots, and colors to recognize one another. Instead, they use smell. They rub clansmen with secretions from an anal gland.
The leader of the group, the alpha, decides just about everything for the mob, like when to get up, when to start looking for food, where to live and for how long.
Although meerkats are social, they restrict that sociability to clansmen. They will fight individual meerkats or whole gangs of them for territory and food. Fighting within the mob is usually restricted to fighting for dominance, for the alpha position.

Answer: You need a special permit to keep meerkats in the U.S.

Because meerkats do such a good job fending for themselves in the desert and since the area of Africa that they are in is over ten times the size of Great Britain, they are doing quite nicely and are not endangered.
They do live longer in captivity though. In the African desert, they can live ten to fifteen years. In captivity, zoos and such, they usually live about five years longer.
Insects, lizards, eggs, fruit, snakes, items on a meerkat menu, are available just about everywhere; there isn't anything special about their African diet.
A special permit is needed to keep meerkats in the U.S. and many rules to follow regarding enclosures. Also, meerkats have been known to contract rabies and are prone to tuberculosis. They tend to consider human 'owners' as part of their clan and human 'guests' are not welcome. And of course, there is that thing with marking clansmen with scent from an anal gland. Humans don't seem to find that very appealing.

Answer: False

In a large gang of meerkats there are lots of watchdogs but they're needed. Birds like to fly from the trees and pluck them right off the ground. Badgers and jackals enjoy an occasional meerkat. Meerkats seem to have immunity to scorpion and snake bites but can die from the bites too. Trying to keep unwanted 'guests' out of burrows can become a problem. Living underground is cool, literally, but there are hazards. During the rainy season, the burrows can flood. Also, since they are not nocturnal, they forage for food during the day.

It can be 115 degrees and very few shady areas to rest in, even for a moment. Although it is true that the Kalahari sets a fine banquet table, with so many mouths to feed, they have to spread out, sometimes venturing into another clan's territory.

Some of the worst injuries have come from fighting with their own kind. Oops!