World Meerkat Day

tanjabrittonwriter 43 Comments

Howdy!

Today is World Meerkat Day and we thought we would tell you a little about ourselves.

Cuteness is, of course, in the eye of the beholder, but if the amount of attention we receive from visitors to our realm at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs is any indication, to say nothing of the number of photos they snap of us, we may safely derive that cute is what we are.

Our full name is Slender-tailed Meerkat, or Suricata suricatta in Linné’s language. As members of the mongoose family (Herpestidae), also known as suricates, our ancestors originated, and our relatives still live, in various countries on the southern African continent, where their burrows course through dry plains, grasslands, and savannas. Cute though we may be, we are nonetheless carnivorous, preferring to gobble grubs and termites but not shirking from eating eggs or small vertebrates, though we also nibble on various roots and fruits.

In the wild, we typically live in groups of 10 to 15, and occasionally up to 30 animals which have been called mobs, but we think that appellation smacks of quarrelsomeness and discord and we prefer the term a “cuteness of meerkats.” We tend to be peace-loving and get along with our close relatives, talking a lot to one another throughout the day, when we are most active. Which is a plus for zoo visitors, of course.

We live for family. We are usually in the oven for 11 weeks and once we are among the 2 to 5 little ones to be born, we stay underground for about 3 weeks before poking our noses out into the wide, wild world. Our moms allow us to suckle for 6 to 9 weeks, but after that we have to start procuring and masticating our own solid food. Our dads and older siblings help raise us, and we grow up so quickly that after only 2 months, you might not even be able to tell how recently we saw the light of the world.

Thank you for designating a day in our honor, we appreciate it. On the whole, we have been faring well, unlike so many of our fellow creatures, and we are considered a species of least concern. We hope this will not change for the worse so that we can continue to bring joy to you when you happen to see us in the wild or at a zoo.

Even though we are garrulous, we aren’t used to making extended speeches, and after this effort have to take a little rest. See you next time!

43 thoughts on “World Meerkat Day”

  2. Howdy Ms Meerkat
    Thank you for interrupting your busy schedule to tell us about your special day and the lives of your people. Meerkats are very popular in the UK too, and at zoos and wildlife parks their enclosures are always surrounded by hordes of adoring fans. That’s no big surprise – you guys are mega-cute, icons of cuddly cuteness in fact!
    Sweet dreams, my dear friend, and best wishes to you and all your tribe from Mr & Mrs P.

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    • Dear Mrs. and Mr. P,
      I feel so much better after my restorative nap and want to respond to your kind comment posthaste.
      It’s nice to know that my relatives in the UK are also popular but I admit to not being too surprised at that announcement. After all, with all the adulation our heads might grow a little bigger than befits us. But not to worry, we are regularly reminded of our down-to-earth status. 😊
      I herewith return warmest regards.
      Ms M

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    • Come to think of it, I probably also see them upright and active most of the time, which is why that last photo is so remarkable, and why it’s the second time I have used it in a post (the first being on the importance of napping).

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  6. Yes, an epitome of animal cuteness—at least as humans see it. And did you know cute started out as a shortened form of acute? Wiktionary says that American student slang in the 1830s transformed the original sense of ‘keenly perceptive or discerning, shrewd’ into the current meaning.

    Are there other animals you’d particularly like people to create a world day for?

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    • I did not know about the evolution of the word cute, but find it more difficult to relate to than what happened to niedlich, as you helpfully pointed out above.

      There should be a day for each threatened species, but I just checked on the website of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and they list 42,108 in that category. It would take either 115+ years of listing one species a day, or each day would have to commemorate 115+ species, which would likely be too demoralizing. But I think that all of humanity should be made aware of what is going on in the more-than-human world.

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    • I’m glad you enjoyed the cuteness of meerkats, Ann. I think it highly likely that they snoozed away part of their special day since the thermometer climbed to 90 degrees F today (about 32 degrees C). Too hot for most of us to be active!

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  11. Oh, no way, Tanja! They are impossibly cute and filled with character! So glad you changed their collective noun to a “cuteness of meerkats”. That change is perfect. Thanks for a lovely post. Meerkats are totally new to me, and reading this was such a relief from all the latest news. Also, your photos are splendid. I get the feeling they might have enjoyed their photo ops.
    Wishing you the restful feeling of that last pic,
    Cheers,
    Julie

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    • I’m so glad the meerkats made you smile, Julie. One can’t help it, they are so entertaining. And they really do seem to pose for the photos, even without food or other incentives. Maybe they sense how much pleasure they give and embrace their roles.
      I’m just about ready to turn in and will try to emulate those sleeping graces of the last photo.
      Wishing you a restful night as well, as much as that’s possible on the 3rd and 4th of July (at least here, people are already celebrating with very LOUD fireworks).
      Tanja

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  13. I think they should just change their name to “adorables” and stop with the other distracting name..Meerkat, please. Great writeup, something new, did not know they were part of the mongoose family, makes since. Superb shots, the last one is pretty much me at the moment while I recover.

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      • I wish. More like clip, drop. hit tree short of ground, snap back to feet, inform rest of group it’s broke and immediately start the painful trek back to the car. Didn’t make it all the way (.5 miles), but far enough the ambulance could scoop my sorry ass off the dirt…..sooooo, not adorable heheheh,

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    • All these special commemorative days come in handy when looking for a theme for one’s photos. 😊
      I also had to look up your reference as I had never heard of Louie de Palma, so you taught me something new. Thank you!

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