Lake Cats: Meerkats

On a clear but freezing cold day in February, we visited Linzer Zoo (Zoo Linz). Located halfway up Pöstlingberg—one of the hills surrounding the city of Linz—it offers a panoramic view of the town, making for a truly refreshing atmosphere.

Right after entering the zoo, we came across the meerkat enclosure. Every single meerkat had emerged from their burrow, standing fully upright to soak in the morning sun. While their faces turned left and right, looking around attentively, their bodies remained practically motionless as they stood tall at their respective spots. In the sub-zero temperature of -3°C, they kept standing straight with back erect for 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, without moving from their positions. It looked almost like some kind of ritual or performance—a delightful, divine spectacle that energizes anyone watching!

Apparently, on cold winter mornings, they spend as much as 30 to 60 minutes sunbathing before they start foraging. During the depths of winter, their bodies cannot function properly without a thorough sunbath, so on days with bad weather, they reportedly give up on activity altogether and don't even bother coming out of their burrows.

Needless to say, meerkats are not cats, but rather members of the mongoose family. Yet, their name derives from the Dutch phrase for "lake cat" (meerkat: meer [lake] + kat [cat]). How a creature from the mongoose family inhabiting the arid regions of Southern Africa ended up being called a "lake cat" remains a mystery, with several theories but no conclusive proof.

On top of that, meerkats are apparently famous figures in ethology (the study of animal behavior). Intrigued by their fascinating repertoire of behaviors, we soon found ourselves tumbling down the rabbit hole of meerkat things.