In this report I will be talking about the meerkat's features, their environment, and the adaptations to their environment. The meerkat is a carnivore, comes from the species of mongoose and has the scientific name Suricata suricata.
Meerkats live exclusively in the range of the dry, desert plains of Southwestern Angola to Southern Africa. Meerkats are found in open, dry country where the ground is hard and rocky. In that area, are plants that survive on little water or are desert vegetation. Southern Africa has a lot of things that the meerkat eats including scorpions, beetles, spiders and snakes. The climate is very humid and there is little rain.
Meerkats have ears that stick out of the sides of their head. This is an adaptation. With ears that stick out of the sides of their head they can catch sound better of what's in front of them. They need to have good hearing to watch out for large birds that hunt them.
Another adaptation is that meerkats have eyes that sit on the front of their head. With eyes that sit on the front of their head, they have binocular vision, a large peripheral (wide) range, and depth perception. They need good eyesight to also watch for predators.
Meerkats eat bugs that live underground or go underground. In the rocky grounds of South America and Angola, it is very hard to dig for bugs with just paws and no claws so the meerkat has developed long, curved claws to dig.
Meerkats have silvery-brown fur to camouflage them to their dry, desert surroundings. (Angola and South Africa).
They are hunted by large birds. An adaptation to prevent from getting eaten is they hang around with other meerkats in groups up to 30. In a large group, there is a good chance predators would eat someone else instead of you.
In a group are lookouts called sentries. To scan the area , they use their stocky hind legs to stand on and watch for predators.
Since Africa has a lot of venomous reptiles like snakes and scorpions, the meerkats have a good chance of getting bit or stung. An adaptation solving this problem is that meerkats are immune to poison.
http://informationplease.com/ipa/a0107983.shtml
Markowitz, Meerkat, Super Froopy Electro Products, Ltd, Meerkat, "http://www.thumper.net/tlkmuck/meerkat.htm#desc" c1995,June 7,1996
Wildlife Fact File, "Meerkat", "Wildlife Fact File", USA, 1991.
Predictions about meerkats in the future.
NOVA Adaptations and Survival menu.