1 / 10

MEERKATS

MEERKATS. Tamara Murphy LT 130 Spring 2004. What is a Meerkat. Meerkats are small mammals that live in Southern Africa Meerkats make their homes in grass-lined burrows that are shared with ground squirrels and yellow mongooses. Scientific Name: Suricata Suricatta Oakland Zoo: Meerkat.

bernad
Download Presentation

MEERKATS

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. MEERKATS Tamara Murphy LT 130 Spring 2004

  2. What is a Meerkat • Meerkats are small mammals that live in Southern Africa • Meerkats make their homes in grass-lined burrows that are shared with ground squirrels and yellow mongooses. • Scientific Name: Suricata Suricatta • Oakland Zoo: Meerkat

  3. Meerkat Characteristics • Vision: Color, the dark eye markings act like built-in sunglasses • Feet: Non-retractable claws • Ears: Closeable • Height: 12 inches • Weight: 2 pounds • Tail: 8 inches, used to balance the animal in an upright position • I’m a Meerkat http://www.pbs.org/kratts/world/africa/meerkat/

  4. Meerkat Home • Home range: Southern Africa/Kalahari Desert • Dwelling: Grass-lined burrows • Toilet: Common latrine used by all members • Transience: Mob moves several times annually if food supply is depleted

  5. Social Structure • Alpha male: dominate male of the mob, has breeding rights to the alpha female • Alpha female: dominate female of the mob, she is the only one that is supposed to breed • Beta male: subservient male, will leave the group by 3 • Beta female: subservient female, will support the alpha meerkats • Pups: meerkat young, 10 months or younger • Babysitter: watches over young while the rest of the group is foraging for food • Sentry: Watches over the group

  6. Meerkat Communication Meerkat communicate in Three Ways • Scent • Sound: Meerkats have over 20 different sounds • Body Language

  7. Meerkat Diet • Worms • Crickets • Scorpions • Small Rodents • Lizards • Small Snakes • Birds • Eggs • Fruit • Ant larvae (their favorite)

  8. Behavioral Changes of Meerkats in Captivity • They no longer need to forage for food • Space is limited, meerkats will no longer be able to migrate from burrow to burrow, they will live in only one. • Their alert systems are dulled because the absence of predators • Meerkats live longer and grow larger in captivity • Meerkats are know to mate twice a year in captivity

  9. Famous Meerkats • Timone: Featured Disney’s Lion King • Ziziphus of the Lazuli Gang: She is a wild meerkat living in the Kalahari desert. She has been the focus of meaning documentaries.

  10. Summary • What is a Meerkat? • Meerkat Characteristics • Meerkat Home • Social Structure • Meerkat Communication • Meerkat Diet • Behavioral Changes in Captivity • Meerkat quiz Animal Planet :: Meerkat Unmasked

More Related