Meerkat

The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterized by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-body length is around 9.4–13.8 in, and the weight is typically between 1.4 and 2.1 lb. The coat is light grey to yellowish-brown with alternate, poorly defined light and dark bands on the back. Meerkats have foreclaws adapted for digging and have the ability to thermoregulate to survive in their harsh, dry habitat.
Meerkats are highly social, and form packs of two to 30 individuals each that occupy home ranges around 2 sq mi in area. There is a social hierarchy—generally dominant individuals in a pack breed and produce offspring, and the nonbreeding, subordinate members provide altruistic care to the pups. Breeding occurs around the year, with peaks during heavy rainfall; after a gestation of 60 to 70 days, a litter of three to seven pups is born.
They live in rock crevices in stony, often calcareous areas, and in large burrow systems in plains.
Commonly living in arid, open habitats with little woody vegetation, meerkats occur in southwestern Botswana, western and southern Namibia, northern and western South Africa; the range barely extends into southwestern Angola.
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