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Three meerkats standing upright side by side on red earth.
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Meerkat

Suricata suricatta

A small, social desert mammal of southern Africa, also called the slender-tailed meerkat, that takes turns standing guard.

🦦 Mongooses and Meerkats
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About the Meerkat

Slender-tailed meerkats live in grasslands, dry savannas and deserts across southern Africa, including the Kalahari Desert. They live in groups called mobs of 10 to 30. While the mob looks for food, one meerkat acts as a lookout and barks an alarm if it sees a predator such as an eagle, hawk or snake. Meerkats eat insects, spiders, scorpions, small animals, eggs, leaves and fruit.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Suricata suricatta[1]
Size
17 to 24 inches long including the tail, about 20 inches on average.[1]
Weight
About 1.5 pounds.[1]
Diet
Omnivore. Insects, spiders, scorpions, small vertebrates, eggs, leaves and fruit.[1]
Habitat
Grasslands, dry savannas and deserts.[1]
Where it lives
Southern Africa, including the Kalahari Desert.[1]
Group life
Mobs of 10 to 30, made of up to three family groups.[1]
Babies
Pregnancy lasts about three months. Litters average three pups.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2015).[2]

Fun facts

  • A meerkat lookout gives a special bark to warn the mob of danger.[1]
  • The dark patches around meerkats' eyes may help with desert glare, like a football player's eye black.[1]
  • Meerkat dads and other helpers babysit the young.[1]

Vocabulary

mob
A group of meerkats that live together.
lookout
An animal that watches for danger while others eat or rest.
burrow
A hole or tunnel dug in the ground by an animal.
diurnal
Active during the day and resting at night.
Kalahari
A large, dry sandy region in southern Africa.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Zoo Atlanta. “Slender-tailed Meerkat.” https://zooatlanta.org/animal/slender-tailed-meerkat/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Suricata suricatta (Meerkat).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41624/45209377 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.