For those who have watched the animated movie "The Lion King," one character that left a deep impression is Timon, who joyfully sings "Hakuna Matata."
Timon is based on a real animal called the meerkat, which is even more adorable than its animated counterpart. However, meerkats are much more than just cute creatures.
Meerkats are highly social animals, typically in groups of 2 to 50 individuals. They exhibit a strong sense of family, with adult members caring for all the young in the group and protecting them from threats. These "babysitters" will lead the young to seek refuge underground when danger is detected. If there's not enough time to escape underground, they will huddle the young together and use their bodies as shields.
Meerkats inhabit grasslands and open plains, with their preferred habitat being tropical hard soils found in desert or dune biomes of terrestrial ecosystems.
These open and exposed areas make perfect hunting grounds for eagles. To prevent their family members from becoming prey, meerkats have developed their management system: sentry duty. While the young ones forage or play, adult meerkats will take turns standing guard to ensure their safety.
The sentry will sound the alarm when danger approaches, prompting the others to seek shelter underground. Sometimes, when confronted with ground threats, they will stand tall to intimidate or even mob the intruders, scaring them off. And meerkats are not to be trifled with; they can even take on cobras when provoked.
Living in places with extreme diurnal temperature variations, meerkats wake up with cold limbs and little warmth in their bodies during chilly nights. Therefore, the first thing they do in the morning is find a sunny spot to bask in, using their bellies as natural solar panels to absorb and convert sunlight into warmth.
One distinct feature of meerkats is their prominent "eye bags." However, these "eye bags" are not signs of sleep deprivation but natural sunglasses, allowing them to see clearly in bright light and spot aerial predators.
Unlike the carefree Timon in the movie, real-life meerkats "singing" indicates danger. Their calls convey various meanings, warning about different predators, and they produce both true and false calls, akin to singing, to communicate specific messages.
While sunbathing and "singing" meerkats may appear cute, you'll want to keep your distance once you look at their menu. Scorpions, centipedes, spiders, snakes, lizards—all are among their favorite foods. Over millions of years of predation, meerkats have evolved an immune system capable of handling toxins. They can swallow scorpion venom sacs whole, not to mention the stingers, munching them down without a second thought.
Meerkats spend most of their time eating, yet you'll never find a chubby meerkat akin to a fat cat. Due to their unique body structure, they cannot store excess fat. Thus, they quickly get hungry and need to forage daily. If they eat too little to meet their needs, they'll become increasingly thin, eventually starving to death. Surprisingly, starvation ranks first on the meerkat's cause of death list.
Meerkats engage in a behavior similar to human graffiti by rubbing their fluffy little bottoms on bushes and rocks to mark their territories. Adjacent groups need to mark their territory boundaries, and meerkat leaders also use scent to establish dominance. So, if you encounter a meerkat and find it dirty, never attempt to wipe its bottom.
Meerkats are fascinating creatures, showcasing remarkable social behaviors and survival adaptations in their harsh desert environments.
