Mammals
Meerkat
Suricata suricatta
The meerkat is a small social mongoose of southern Africa, famous for its upright "sentinel" pose. It lives in highly cooperative groups in which each individual has a role, from lookout duty to caring for the young.
from€85,40
In short
The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) is a species with IUCN conservation status LC (Least concern). It inhabits arid and semi-desert areas, digging extensive underground burrows. Animals in Black offers a fine-art portrait of it on a black background, available as a print on Hahnemühle paper: view the print.
Habitat & conservation
Where does the meerkat live?
It inhabits arid and semi-desert areas, digging extensive underground burrows. Taking turns, some act as lookouts on a mound while the others forage, giving alarm calls that differ according to the type of predator.
Is the meerkat endangered?
The IUCN Red List rates it Least Concern (LC) with a stable population: it is widespread and not threatened, well adapted to the arid environments of southern Africa.
Facts about the meerkat
- It takes turns acting as a sentinel to spot predators.
- It has different alarm calls depending on the threat.
- The dark eye patches cut the glare of the desert sun.
Data source: IUCN Red List — Suricata suricatta (Least Concern)
RED List
Conservation status codes
- EX Extinct No individuals survive.
- EW Extinct in the wild Survives only in captivity.
- CR Critically endangered Extremely high risk of extinction.
- EN Endangered Very high risk of extinction.
- VU Vulnerable High risk of extinction.
- NT Near threatened Likely to become threatened soon.
- LC Least concern Low risk of extinction.
- DD Data deficient Not enough data to assess.
- NE Not evaluated Not yet assessed by the IUCN.