Animal Tales – October 2019

(^28) AnimalTales

MRINAL PAL/SHUTTERSTOCK; DRAGONIKA/SHUTTERSTOCK; ANDREY BAYDA/SHUTTERSTOCK; DISNEY (2)

LIFEUNDER THE SUN

Oncetheirfoodis safely collected,

meerkatswastenotime digging in.

“Meerkatseatinsects like crickets,

centipedes,millipedes, or beetles,

smallmammalslikerodents, birds,

eggs, lizards,

tubers and

roots,” Deidre

lists.She says

meerkats also

indulge in a

specialsnack:

scorpions!

“Meerkats are

able to eat

scorpions

becausethey have

someimmunitytothe venom,”

Deidre reveals.

Whentheyaren’t eating,

meerkatsspendtheir days building

newundergroundburrows.

Becausethey’reexcellent diggers,

meerkatswillalsoadd tunnels

totheirburrowssothey can stay

undergroundastheymove from

oneholetotheother. The burrows

aretheirhomes,andthey provide

protectionfrompredators as well

asthehotAfricansun. However,

thatdoesn’tmeanmeerkats try

toavoidthesuncompletely:

“Meerkatsliketosunbathe in the

W

hatanimalhas“cat”

in itsname,but

isn’tpartofthecat

familyat all?A meerkat!Found

in southernandwestern Africa,

thesedesertcrittersareactually

a typeofmongoose.AnimalTales

chattedwithDeidreTimms,a

zookeeperat theTulsaZoo,to

findoutmoreaboutthem!

MONGOOSE MOB

Deidretellsusthere are three

differentsub-speciesofmeerkat:

theSouthernAfricanmeerkat,the

Angolanmeerkatandthedesert

meerkat.Theycanallbefoundin

theKalahariDesert,whichspans

fromthenationofAngolaallthe

waytoSouthAfrica.“Theyare

verysocialcreaturesandlive

in largegroupsthatcanrange

fromfiveto 40 individualscalled

a ‘mob,’”Deidreshares.Mobs

willworktogetherasa teamto

completetheirdailytasks.A

biggerportionofthe

groupwill

searchfor

foodwhilea

fewmeerkats

serveas

lookouts.The

lookoutswill

warnthe others

with a shrill

whistle sound

if a predator

approaches. Deidre says meerkats

will also stand together as a mob

to appear larger and act fierce in

order to

scare other

animals

off. “Their

primary

predators

are jackals,

Martial

eagles,

falcons, and

snakes such

as cobras,”

she tells AT.

Learn all about these desert creatures!

Meerkats dig “bolt holes” all across the

desert. They’ll funnel into the nearest hole

whenever a predator approaches!

Meerk

Mobs are led by an “alpha

pair” of meerkats. Of the

two leaders, the female is

the more dominant one.