- Asiatic lion
- Aye-aye
- Black howler monkey
- Black lion tamarin
- Black rat
- Brown rat, Norway rat
- Brush-tailed bettong
- Capybara
- Common squirrel monkey
- De Brazza's Monkey
- Geoffroy's marmoset
- Dwarf mongoose
- Goeldi's monkey
- Giant jumping rat
- Golden-headed lion tamarin
- Golden lion tamarin
- Grey mouse lemur
- Javan langur
- Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, Bandro
- Lion-tailed macaque
- Livingstone's fruit bat
- Mongoose lemur
- White-faced saki
- Naked mole rat
- North American river otter
- Okapi
- Owl monkey
- Pygmy hippopotamus
- Pygmy slow loris
- Red panda
- Red ruffed lemur
- Ring-tailed lemur
- Sand cat
- Slender-tailed meerkat
- South American fur seal
- South American tapir
- Southern pudu
- Spiny mouse
- Two-toed sloth
- Water vole
- Western lowland gorilla
Slender-tailed meerkat
Scientific name: Suricata suricata
Country: South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Uganda.
Continent: Africa
Diet: Insects - insectivore, insect larvae - larvivore, insect pupae - pupivore, tubers (for moisture) - radicivore, fruits - frugivore. In the Zoo they are given insects (crickets and mealworms), dead chicks, mice, sprats, minced meat, chopped fruit, dog biscuits and a specially balanced diet supplement.
Food & feeding: Omnivore
Habitats: Tropical grassland, desert and semi-desert
Conservation status: Not Threatened
Relatives: Dwarf mongoose, Banded mongoose
Description: One of the most characterful small mammals. They are only about 24 cm long with a 20 cm tail and weigh only a few hundred grammes, yet their character is much bigger. Their bodies are rather skinny and their limbs slender. Their eyes are surrounded by black smudges, which may help to limit the glare of the sun in the desert. A series of dark bands runs across the back. They often stand up straight on their rear legs, with front legs held neatly in front of their chests.
Lifestyle: Meerkats are active by day, taking shelter in their warm burrows against the chill of the night. The burrows are complex and may have up to 90 entrances and several different levels. They usually stay within sprinting distance of this burrow complex, but launch food-hunting missions out into the surrounding area. Together they will cheerfully attack potentially dangerous prey such as scorpions, returning to the burrow with choice items of food to feed the young.
Family & friends: They are sociable animals, living in groups of about 10-20, and they take turns to act as look-out from a high branch or rock, warning the rest of the group of any approaching danger. Their main enemies are birds of prey. They often stand up on hind legs while on guard. The colonies are close knit with each meerkat taking on special duties e.g. sentry, baby-sitter, and hunter, to benefit the group as a whole.
Keeping in touch: Territories are hotly defended and the borders are scent-marked by the males using a smelly substance produced from glands near the anus. While looking for food, group members keep in touch by making a soft murmuring sound. Clucks and barks indicate a predator threat and will cause all the group to scramble furiously back to the burrow.
Growing up: Meerkats are sexually mature after about a year. Mating takes place throughout the year and pregnancy lasts 11 weeks. They have 2-5 young in a litter, each weighing about 30 grammes. The young emerge from the burrow at 3 weeks and are weaned at 7-9 weeks. They can live up to 12 years in captivity.
Did you know?
Meerkats like to sunbathe. Nights in the semi-desert where Meerkats like to live can be very cold. In the morning, to help them warm up, Meerkats will often stretch out in the sun all the while keeping a watchful eye out for predators.
Conservation news
Conservation news: Alert, inquisitive, adaptable and living in areas where there is often little human activity, Meerkats are currently not threatened.
