You cannot download interactives. Deserts may seem lifeless, but in fact many species have evolved special ways to survive in the harsh environments.
Deserts are extremely dry environments that are home to well-adapted plants and animals. The main types of deserts include hot and dry deserts, semi-arid deserts, coastal deserts, and cold deserts. Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom.
Why does a meerkat have black rings around its eyes? How does the meerkat's dark fur act as a "solar panel"? A meerkat can open and close its ears to keep out sand while digging for prey. A meerkat can spot a predator, such as an eagle, from more than meters 1, feet away. A meerkat has a strong tail that can function like a third leg. These squirrel-size members of the mongoose family live in groups of different sizes, from as little as three to as big as 50 members.
Meerkats live in the deserts and grasslands of the southern tip of Africa. They are super cute, with bushy, brown-striped fur, a small, pointed face and large eyes surrounded by dark patches. They average about 50 centimetres long , including their tail. These extremely social animals live together in burrows, which they dig with their long, sharp claws. Living underground keeps mob members safe from predators and out of the harsh African heat. These burrows can be 5 metres long and contain multiple entrances, tunnels, and rooms.
A group will use up to five separate burrows at a time. They also have a pointed snout, which enables them to excavate prey from narrow trenches. Meerkats are carnivores. Their diet consists mostly of insects. They dig in the ground to find their prey of insects, as well as siders, snails, rodents, eggs, lizards and scorpions. They use their keen sense of smell and quick digging skills to capture their prey.
They have a home territory of about 4 square miles or more and hunt in a different section each day, returning to the first area after a week. While each meerkat must find its own food, they may work together to capture larger prey, such as a large lizard. Meerkats live in the desert. Meerkats have certain traits that help them to dig, such as a special membrane that can cover their eyes while burrowing.
Their ears can also close while they dig. Meerkats can be found throughout southern Africa, including Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Female meerkats have a gestation of ten weeks.
A female can give birth from 1 to 8 babies, called pups, at a time, usually 3 to 4. In addition, the zoo feeds the meerkats cat chow and crickets. Although very different from their diet in the wild, this type of diet seems to meet their needs.
Good news and bad news: Meerkats can be adopted. However, you can not take them home with you. They do not make good pets because of their constant digging and inability to be housebroken. They also do not get along well with other pets and are very likely to bite them. They may even bite you. As you can see from the picture on the left, although meerkats are very cute, they have some serious carnivore teeth! It is best to visit them at the zoo, which is better equipped to do so with properly trained handlers and escape proof facilities.
For more information on meerkat adoption, contact Mindia Whittier at the Fort Worth Zoo at Photo of meerkat teeth courtesy of Tony Xu Click on the picture for the full image. Diet in the wild: various insects including poisonous scorpions, grubs, geckos, small rodents, snakes, and various roots and fruits. Location in the zoo: Meerkat Mounds. Physical description: weight of about 2 pounds, 12 inches tall, stiff, black-tipped tail that aids in balance, gray or tan fur with dark stripes across back, long claws on front paws for digging and climbing, pointed snout and small black eyes surrounded by patches of black fur.
General information: Meerkats are small mammals who are most closely related to the mongooses. They are colonial animals, so they are very social within their own group. Behaviors that make this evident are that they will share food, and groom, snuggle and lick each other often, as well as before settling down to sleep in a large pile similar to canine puppies.
Special anatomical, physiological or behavioral adaptations: Meerkats have developed an immunity to scorpion stings that can paralyze a grown man or kill a small child. They also have black patches of fur around their eyes that function as a sort of built in pair of sunglasses. Personal observations: When the Meerkat Mounds exhibit first opened up in , there were many babies among the population.
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