Slender-tailed meerkat

Physical features

• Slender-tailed meerkats can be grey, tan, or brown in color, varying based on geographic location. The tail is thin and has a characteristic black tip.

• Lengths range from 17 to 24 inches with 20 inches as the average length including the tail. The average weight for an adult is about 1.5 to 2 pounds.

• There are distinctive dark “patches” over the eyes. These patches are thought to be a natural shade from the glare of the sun in the habitats.

• Meerkats have four digits on each foot with sharp, non-retractable claws. The fore claws are larger and used for digging and burrowing.

• The outer ear (pinna) can fold over to prevent dirt from entering the ear while they are burrowing.

Diet: Insectivore

• Wild – Insects, spiders, scorpions, small vertebrates (e.g. snakes), eggs, leaves, fruit

• Zoo – Nebraska feline diet, omnivore biscuits, celery, carrots, romaine lettuce, oatmeal, dry kibble (dog food), crickets, hard-boiled egg

• Meerkats have a natural immunity to snake and scorpion venom, so they will prey upon them as food sources in the wild. They can withstand six times as much venom as a rabbit!

• For enrichment at the Zoo, the meerkats receive worms, larvae, crickets, small fruits and vegetables, and especially enjoy opportunities to hunt for insects. The Animal Care Team buries items and offers a wide variety of substrates to promote natural behaviors such as digging and excavating.

• Meerkats don’t need to drink water often and obtain most of their water from their prey.

Reproduction

• Slender-tailed meerkats are sexually mature at one year but females usually begin to breed at 24 months.

• They reproduce and have offspring throughout the year; however, most litters occur during the warmer, rainy season August through March. Gestation period is about three months but can vary.

• The average litter size is three offspring. Young are born altricial, with eyes and ears closed, and are very dependent on their mother. They are weaned at 1.5 to 2 months.

• Pups cannot find prey for themselves at first and will vocalize and follow other group members that are foraging, relying on them for food. When they are around 100 – 120 days old, they begin foraging for themselves.

• When it comes to breeding and care of offspring, meerkats have both cooperative and competitive behaviors.

• Meerkat fathers play an active role in guarding the young. Non-breeding members of the group also help care for the offspring by guarding, feeding, and playing with the pups. Mobs spend much of their time grooming and playing.

• There is a dominance hierarchy for both males and females, with the dominant pair breeding. Females control breeding and can gain breeding rights/dominance through inheritance, fighting, moving to another group that does not have a breeding female, or starting a new group with a male. Attempting to start a new group is risky since they may be caught by predators or attacked by a larger meerkat group. The dominant female may also force other subordinate females out of the group or kill offspring of a subordinate female.

Interpretive Information

• Meerkats are in the mongoose family.

• Meerkats are highly social animals, living in territorial groups called mobs. Mobs may number up to 50 individuals and may be made up of multiple family groups.

• Living in groups has an advantage for meerkats, and every group member has a task. One meerkat acts as a lookout, or sentinel, and sounds an alarm if danger is nearby. Meerkats have specific alarm calls to differentiate terrestrial predators from aerial predators.

• Groups will also cooperate to forage for food throughout the day. Each individual forages for their own food while others take turns acting as a sentinel or guarding the young.

• Predators include birds of prey, such as eagles and hawks, terrestrial carnivores, and snakes.

• Meerkat mobs are territorial, and outsiders are typically not welcome. Meerkats have scent pouches, located below their tails. The dominant male will scent mark the group’s territory.

• Meerkats have a number of adaptations for living in an environment that has both very hot daytime and very cool evening temperatures. Meerkats have a slow metabolism which helps them to tolerate consistently high temperatures. They will pant to help cool themselves. They will avoid the hottest part of the day by staying in the den, come out to forage, and then return to the den before sunset to avoid the colder evening temperatures. At night they will huddle in groups, which is especially important for pups who are more vulnerable to cool temperatures. They will also stretch out across the ground or other warm or cool surfaces depending on the temperature.

• They have at least 10 vocalizations including growls, and an alarm bark. Females are usually more vocal than males.

Updated July 2019