Meerkat Exhibit
The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging
to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert
in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola,
and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan".
A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families
have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span
of 12-14 years, and about half this in the wild.