Suricata suricatta 

Meerkat Life Cycle

General

Suricata suricatta, also known as “sun angles” by natives, are foot-tall mongooses inhabited in Southern Africa. The more common name for Suricata suricatta is Meerkat; meerkats live in sub-arid and desert regions. They live in large groups called gangs, in these gangs there may be a number of different breeding pairs, but meerkat society is generally dominated by one male and female pair. Meerkats are carnivores, their diets consist of small animals, invertebrates they also eat larger animals.

Newborn

Meerkats are usually born in November after the gestation period that lasts for around 11 weeks. The males and females mate at the beginning of summer; the female will give birth to between 2 and 5 small kits. The female gives birth inside a grass lined chamber in the burrow. The kits are born blind and without a full fur coat; however some of the kits may not survive because of infanticide, burrow raids, or even abandonment.

Kits

Most of the band goes off to forage for food whereas the young stay in burrows as they are too young to hunt with the adults. The young meerkats never stray far from the den as they are a target for many predators at such a young age.

Adults

Meerkats can live for up to 10 years in the wild and longer in captivity. Adult meerkats can grow to a standing height of 12 inches and weigh around 20lbs. Meerkats reach sexual maturity at 10 months and adulthood at 11 months. Despite their unintimidating size, these unyielding survivors of the unforgiving desert are undoubtedly warriors, taking on and overpowering any formidable obstacle that life throws in their way.