The meerkat or suricate Suricata suricatta, a small mammal, is a member of the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some superfamilies have 50 or more members. Meerkats have an average life span of 12-14 years.
The Meerkat (Suricata suricatta) is a relative of the mongoose and inhabits all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South Africa. The Meerkat has a narrow pointed muzzle, dark rings around its eyes, hardly visible black ears and dark stripes on its shoulders, back, and tail. Meerkats fur ranges in color from silver to orange to brown. It has the size of a squirrel and is often seen in a tripod position, standing up on its hind legs and using the tail for balance. Meerkats live in complex groups with clearly defined duties.
"Meerkat" is a loanword from Afrikaans. The name has a Dutch origin but by misidentification. Dutch meerkat refers to the "guenon", a monkey of the Cercopithecus genus. The word "meerkat" is Dutch for "lake cat", but the suricata is not in the cat family, and neither suricatas nor guenons are attracted to lakes; the word possibly started as a Dutch adaptation of a derivative of Sanskrit markaá¹a मरà¥à¤•à¤Ÿ = "monkey", perhaps in Africa via an Indian sailor on board a Dutch East India Company ship. The traders of the Dutch East India Company were likely familiar with monkeys, but the Dutch settlers attached the name to the wrong animal at the Cape. The suricata is called stokstaartje = "little stick-tail" in Dutch. According to African popular belief (mainly in the Zambian/Zimbabwean region), the meerkat is also known as the sun angel, as it protects villages from the moon devil or the werewolf which is believed to attack stray cattle or lone tribesmen.
Theres a tv show about them on animal planet; Meerkat mannor or something. Meerkats are funny! But that disney one with that swine sucks because i h8 D!$NeY
I've read a book called "The life of Pi" about an Indian boy who is a castaway on a lifeboat.... bunking with a royal bengal tiger. The come across an island where the ground is made of algae and is versatile enough to support massive trees. And the only other thing that inhabits the island are millions of meerkats! Sounds strange but is one of the best books i've read.
yeah I've read it as well, I found it rather strange. That said, 'the curious incident of the dog in the night-time' was much more weird.
