Photo Of The Week: Meerkat Listening

Meerkats are one of my favorite animals. They are extremely social creatures that are tougher than they look. This meerkat was listening to a lion roar in the distance. Therefore I named this photograph ‘Meerkat Listening‘. This moment was captured on a visit to the Melbourne Zoo. I spent most of my time with the meerkats, as they are so busy and interesting. They were obviously concerned about the lions off in the distance and surprisingly not very much about me. Most of them were frolicking throughout their enclosure, but not this guy, maybe he was their sentry. I would love to have photographed them in the wild and plan to one day. Although, until I can find the time and the money for my dream Africa trip I plan on visiting them where I can.

Why Experience Matters

All of my knowledge on these intelligent little creatures was through documentaries. The great thing about nature and travel photography is you are forced to learn about the world around you. Seeing a meerkat in person is much better than seeing them on television. Seeing them in the wild would be even better than seeing them in the zoo, but it is better than not seeing them at all. I cannot wait till the day I go on safari in Africa and get to observe them first hand. Experience is something that no book or documentary can give you. More importantly it is something that nobody can take away from you. That was the number one thing I learned during my time as a tour guide.

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5 Cool Meerkat Facts

They Recognize Each Other’s Voices

The Meerkat (suricate Suricata suricatta) is also called a ‘Suricate’. The Meerkat is a small member of the mongoose family whose range extends from South West Angola to South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a mob. There are also referred to as a gang or a clan. Meerkats are well known for their upright position and sociable behaviour.

Meerkats remove sand from their eyes by blinking. Between the eye and eye lid they have a white membrane called the nictitating membrane. It removes sand from their eyes with every blink.

Each mob has a sentry, which is a bit like watchman and is often found perched high on a mound or up in a tree. When a predator is spotted, the meerkat performing as sentry gives a warning bark or whistle, and other members of the group will run and hide.