eerkats live in big family groups. There can be as many as 40
meerkats in a group, all related to each other. The meerkats dig
tunnels in the ground to live in. The tunnels connect to other tunnels
to make a home like a maze. If there are a lot of rocks around, sometimes
the meerkats will live in the cracks between the rocks.
ach meerkat in the group has a special job. There are lots of things
that need to be done. Some of the meerkats are hunters. They go out
during the day to look for food. Other meerkats look
out for danger. They stand up tall so they can see all around.
If they see any dangerous animals coming, the look-outs
warn the rest of the family to hide or fight.
hile everyone is
working, some of the meerkats stay at home to babysit. The baby meerkats
can't go very far or very fast, so it's
important that someone keeps an eye on them. When the babys get a little
older, they don't need a babysitter any more. They can go out with
the hunters now, but the babies still don't know what things are good
to eat or what animals could be dangerous. Some of the meerkats act
as teachers to help the babies learn how to do all the jobs that a
meerkat has to do. Each day, some of the meerkats
have to be hunters, some have to be look-outs, and some have to be
babysitters or teachers. All of the meerkats know how to do all of the
different jobs, so they take turns. The meerkat who babysits one day
might hunt the next day and be a look-out the day after that.
eerkats don't go very far from their tunnels when they hunt. After a
while, they may eat all the food that is close to home. If that
happens, the meerkats all move to a new home. Sometimes they will go
to a place where they have lived before. Then they move into their old
tunnels. Other times they will go somewhere else and dig brand new
tunnels. Wherever they go, they need to be able to find food nearby.