Merely Catty... Just kiddin, I'm a Meerkat!

Remember Timone? From the Lion King? Well, guess what? He was a...

MEERKAT

• The Meerkat is a small mammal and a member of the mongoose family.  
  
• It inhabits all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South Africa.
  
• Meerkats have an average life span of 12-14 years.
  
• The female meerkat weighs on average about 1.58 pounds. It has long slender limbs to match its body which measures in at around 10 to 14 inches with an added tail length of 7 to 10 inches. 
  
• Its face comes to a point at the nose, which is brown and the eyes always have black patches around them, which act as a deflecting mechanism against the sun's glare. Like cats, meerkats have a large peripheral range and good depth perception. The meerkat has small black crescent-shaped ears that can close when digging to keep sand out. 
  
• Its tail is not bushy like all other mongoose species, but is rather long and thin and tapers to a black or reddish colored pointed tip. The meerkat uses its tail to balance when standing upright. 
  
• At the end of each of a Meerkat's "fingers" is a non-retractable, strong, 2 cm long, curved claw used for digging underground burrows and digging for prey. Claws are also used with muscular hindlegs to help climb the occasional tree. They have four toes on each foot. They have short parallel stripes across their backs, extending from the base of the tail to the shoulders and the patterns of stripes are unique to each meerkat. The underside of the meerkat has no markings but the belly has a patch which is only sparsely covered with hair and shows the black skin underneath. The meerkat uses this area to absorb heat while standing on its rear legs, usually early in the morning after cold desert nights.
  
• Meerkats are primarily insectivores, but also eat lizards, snakes, scorpions, spiders, plants, eggs, small mammals, millipedes, centipedes and, more rarely, small birds. They are partially immune to certain venoms, including the very strong venom of the scorpions of the Kalahari Desert. They have no excess body fat stores, so foraging for food is a daily need.
• Meerkats become sexually mature at about one year of age and can have 1 to 5 pups in a litter, with 3 pups being the most common litter size. Wild meerkats may have up to four litters per year.
  
• It has recently been noted that meerkat calls may carry specific meanings, with specific calls indicating the approach of snakes, birds of prey, or other predators. How these calls work is not yet clear.
  
• Meerkats demonstrate altruistic behavior within their colonies; one or more meerkats stand lookout while others are foraging or playing, to warn them of approaching dangers. When a predator is spotted, the meerkat performing as sentry gives a warning bark, and other members of the gang will run and hide in one of the many bolt holes they have spread across their territory. The lookout meerkat is the first to reappear from the burrow and search for predators, constantly barking to keep the others underground. If there is no threat, the meerkat stops signaling and the others feel safe to emerge.
  
• Meerkats also babysit the young in the group. Females that have never produced offspring of their own often lactate to feed the alpha pair's young, while the alpha female is away with the rest of the group. They also protect the young from threats, often endangering their own lives. On warning of danger, the babysitter takes the young underground to safety and is prepared to defend them if the danger follows. If retreating underground is not possible, she collects all young together and lies on top of them.