SURICATES, or MEERKAT –
FIERY AND FEISTY
Suricates, sometimes known as meerkat, Suricata suricatta, are residents of both the
Kalahari and Namib desert. Also found in other areas, the Meerkat is known to be a desert adapted animal.
Feisty and fiery little animals they have a very high intelligence level.Suricates live in burrows. These are made
by using their front feet to dig and scrape the sand away. If the ground is too hard, like on the gravel plains of
the Namib Desert, suricates will use burrows dug by other animals like Aardvark or ground squirrels. These burrows
are sometimes a labyrinth of interconnected tunnels, with little hollows where the family go to sleep at night.
Contact us to arrange your Namibia safari where you will have the chance to see these animals in the wild.
Family groups can vary from 10 individuals to anything in the vicinity of 50 individuals. Such a family group
contains adults of various sizes, as well as young. As is seen in all herds of different animals, there is a
hierarchy, from the strongest to the weakest. Usually the suricate family is led by the oldest female in the group.
The oldest female has all the knowledge gained during her life time, and she passes this knowledge down to other
members of the group.
Suricates found in the Kalahari Desert are reddish in colour, while their cousins in the Namib Desert are more
whitish in colour. This is just purely adaptation to their various environments. When looking closely at these
lovely furry animals, you will see the dark circles around their eyes. This is their “sunglasses”. Birds of prey
are the suricate’s main enemy, and birds of prey usually attack from the sun in order to succeed in their attack.
Suricates always have guards out as the family are feeding, and they always scan the sky, hence the need of
“sunglasses” to be able to look directly into the sun.
Fitted with sharp teeth and lighting quick reflexes, suricates are carnivores. Taking anything from as small as
a beetle to as big as small snakes, these animals have the fiery character for these hunts. To observe one of these
hunts is a fierce show of speed, dust and boldness. The whole family work as a group to eliminate or expel the
intruder.Family life is important to suricates. Constant grooming accompanied by little cooing noises is part of
each day’s ritual. This just strengthens the bond of the whole group. Young suricates are left with an older female
who watches out for them, one can actually say in the same way as a kindergarten.
These furry little beasts are difficult to see in the wild. Either they must be on the move, grazing, or you must
be lucky to catch them at sunset when they return to their burrows.
It does not matter how, but count yourself lucky if you have the privilege of seeing them in the wild.
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