Meerkat 27 cm - Cuddly Toy

Physical Characteristics
Squirrel-sized Meerkats are mongooses famed for their upright posture. Its tail is not bushy like all other mongoose species, but is rather long and thin and tapers to a black or reddish coloured pointed tip. The meerkat uses its tail to balance when standing upright. The eyes always have black patches around them, which help deflect the sun's glare. The meerkat has small black crescent-shaped ears that can close when digging to keep sand out. Meerkats have non-retractable, long, curved claws on their fingers, used for digging underground burrows and digging for prey. Their coat is usually fawn-colored peppered with grey, tan, or brown with a silver tint. They have short parallel stripes across their backs, the patterns of stripes are unique to each meerkat. The meerkat uses the exposed black skin on its belly to absorb heat while standing on its rear legs, usually early in the morning after cold desert nights. Size: Head and body 25 to 30 cm plus a tail 19 to 24 cm long. Weight: Less than 2.2 lbs (1 kg).

Habitat
The Meerkat inhabits all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South Africa.

Behaviour
They often stand on their rear legs and gaze alertly over the southern African plains where they live. Mothers can even nurse their young while standing. Meerkats work together in numbers. A few will typically serve as lookouts, watching the skies for birds of prey, such as hawks and eagles, that can snatch them from the ground. A sharp, shrill call is the signal for all to take cover. While a few individuals guard the group, the rest busy themselves foraging for the foods that make up their varied diet. Meerkat groups utilize several different burrows and move from one to another. Each burrow is an extensive tunnel-and-room system that remains cool even under the boiling African sun.

Breeding
Females give birth to two to four young each year in one of the group's burrows. Fathers and siblings help to raise meerkat young, teaching them to play and forage and alerting them to the ever-present danger from above. Young meerkats are so fearful of predatory birds that even airplanes will send them diving for cover.

Diet
Meerkats are omnivorous and forage for food near their burrows, turning over stones and rooting in crevices. Though their favourite food is a tasty insect, meerkats aren't picky: they'll also eat small mammals and reptiles, scorpions, centipedes, worms, eggs, tubers, and roots. When hunting small game, they work together and communicate with purring sounds.

Strange and Interesting Facts
The character Timon in The Lion King movie was a Meerkat. Meerkats can safely eat scorpions because they're immune to the venom.