Meerkats are not cats! They are members of the mongoose family.

Meerkats are highly intelligent and very social animals. They live in large family groups called mobs and everyone helps out to get food, watch for danger and take care of babies. There is one male and one female that lead the mob. They also have most of the babies.

Working together keeps them safe. A sentry or guard will find a high place and stand up to watch for danger. They will call out to the others if they see any predators such as eagles and snakes.

 predators - animals that want to eat them

Meerkats are extremely cute!  They have lots of fur, and black circles around their eyes to help them see in the sun. They have sharp, long claws which they use to dig out their homes in the sand. Their faces are pointed which helps them to catch insect from holes in the ground and an excellent sense of smell.

They are quite small, about the size of a squirrel, 20 inches (50 cm) long.

They weigh about 1.4-2.1 pounds (0.5 - 1 kg)

They live 12-14 years.

Meerkats go outside only in the daytime. They spend most of they day looking for food. 

Meerkats are carnivores. Their favourite foods are beetles, caterpillars, scorpions and spiders. They will also eat eggs and small birds or reptiles. They have fast reflexes so they can move very fast to catch animals and to avoid getting hurt by them.

Meerkats don't need to drink water. They get the water they need from the insects they eat.

carnivores: animals that eat only meat

reflexes: actions, ability to move

Meerkat babies are called pups. A female meerkat may have a litter of 1-8 pups. She may have a few litters in one year.

Meerkats take turns to look after the babies. The babysitter will stay with the babies all day long when the others are out looking for food. The babysitter must protect the babies from predators that will eat the babies if they can.

The pups are born with almost no hair and their eyes and ears are closed. They stay in the burrow and drink milk for the first few weeks. After that, they can start eating other foods. By four weeks, they can leave the burrow with the family.

litter - a group of babies

predators - animals that want to eat them