MEERKAT
Suricata suricatta
Another example of being at the right
exhibit at the right time, along with a little patience. The above shot was
taken at the San Francisco Zoo. They were congregated on this small slab of rock
and I could sort of see the stack developing. With images 1 - 6, you can
see the progression yourself. 7 & 8 show the more familiar 'sentinel'
pose'. I noticed with the two
meerkats in #7 that they always looked in the same direction, like
synchronized swimmers.
Meerkats belong to a family of animals known as Viverrids. Also in this family
are Civets and Mongooses. While most viverrids are solitary, the Meerkats are
quite the opposite - a highly social group that lives in underground burrows.
They usually take over an abandoned ground squirrel burrow and enlarge it. Quite
the diggers with their long claws. They are active during the day, diurnal I
believe the word is and start by coming out in the morning to sit out and soak
up the sun. Their native habitat is South Africa. Then food foraging begins
while some stand guard against predators, taking up the sentinel pose on high
ground or a termite mound. If they'd just look in different directions, they could
cover more territory with their vigilance.
For more information on meerkats, you can read all about them on the Oakland Zoo website. Just click this link: Meerkats
More of my photos:
|
Meerkat 1 |
Meerkat 2 |
Meerkat 3 |
Meerkat 4 |
|
Meerkat 5 |
Meerkat 6 |
Meerkat 7 |
Meerkat 8 |
Meerkat 9 |
Meerkat 10 |
Meerkat 11 |