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Meerkat

Suricata suricatta · medium

Meerkat groups run on cooperation to an unusual degree. A dominant pair does most of the breeding; the rest of the group — often their grown offspring — dig, guard, and feed pups that are not their own. Individuals take turns as sentinel, standing upright on a mound while the others forage, and give different alarm calls for a raptor overhead and a predator on the ground. The group responds differently to each.

They also teach, which is rare outside humans. Adults bring prey to pups in a graded sequence: dead items first, then disabled ones, then live prey once the pup is old enough to handle it. With scorpions this includes removing the sting before handing it over, and gradually leaving it intact. Meerkats have a degree of resistance to scorpion venom, but the training is still deliberate and adjusted to the pup's age.

They live in the dry country of southern Africa, in burrow systems with many entrances, often shared with ground squirrels and mongooses.

The cooperative picture has a harder side: dominant females frequently evict subordinates and may kill their pups, and life in a group is considerably better for some members than others.

Where it lives

Worml lists the meerkat as native to 4 countries — Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Its habitat is arid open plains and the kalahari.

Ranges here are reduced to whole countries for playability and exclude introduced populations — see about the data for what that simplification leaves out.

In the game

Meerkat is rated medium. To solve the round you need to find any 2 of its 4 listed countries. How scoring works →

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