Meerkats may be able to handle a bite from some types of venomous snakes. Biologists have discovered meerkats are immune to some snakes' venom as they belong to the mongoose family. In some parts of the world, people prize mongooses as house guards because they can battle with deadly snakes, like cobras. If bitten they feel unwell for serval hours but make a full recovery. Meerkats may looks absolutely adorable but they lead dangerous lives. They have developed a technique for handling the venom found in scorpions, which they eat.
When a scorpion sees a meerkat it moves in quickly for the kill. First the meerkat zeroes in on the tail biting off the scorpion's stinger and discarding it. There is however still venom on its exoskeleton.
To combat this, meerkats have learned to rub scorpions in the sand to remove any remaining venom. Lunch is served! Meerkats are much smarter than they look. A recent study at St Andrews University — Scotland — found meerkats use complex coordinated behaviour, which rivals that of chimps, baboons, dolphins and even humans.
Many animals use their body odors to mark their territories. Dogs hike their legs to urinate on their property. Cats rub up against you , marking you with the scent glands in their cheeks and foreheads. Meerkats do something similar but a little more intricate. They make a "paste" of secretions in scent pouches below their tails, which they rub on rocks and plants to mark their territory. The chemical signals found in the scent markers come from odor-producing bacteria that thrive in the secretions, according to a study from researchers at Duke University published in Scientific Reports.
Don't let their cute looks fool you. Meerkats can be vicious when fighting over territories, and those conflicts can end in death. In fact in a study published in the journal Nature , researchers looked at 1, animal species. They found that meerkats were the most murderous. Meerkats will try to avoid fighting, usually with bluffing and aggressive posturing, says the San Diego Zoo. But when there's no option but to go to war, both sides line up across a field and then race at each other, leaping with their tails straight up in the air, throwing out their back legs like bucking horses.
Often one mob will psych out the other before any fighting actually takes place. Meerkats primarily eat insects, using their sharp sense of smell to dig to find tasty food such as grubs, termites, beetles, and caterpillars.
But they don't limit themselves to bugs. Meerkats will also eat small reptiles, eggs, birds, fruit, and some plants. They are also able to kill and eat venomous snakes and scorpions without being hurt. They are immune to the toxic dangers of scorpion venom.
Researchers believe that meerkats can withstand as much as six times the venom that would kill a rabbit. The meerkat's eyes have adapted well to desert life. Meerkats have scent glands underneath their tails, which they use in marking their territory. There are often disputes among different meerkat clans because of territory. Different clans of meerkats territories tend to overlap. As a way to scare away intruders, all members of a particular clan stand on their hind legs.
This is a posture that signals to the intruders that they are dominant in that territory. Meerkats are cute. So are prairie dogs, especially when they kiss. Want to know why they kiss? On other occasions, meerkats may be seen standing up in a group to scare off a predator. Being a small animal, the meerkat knows it cannot face a potential enemy on its own.
For this reason, they work in groups to chase away predators. To appear larger and dominant, all of the group members will stand on their back feet. A meerkat clan is capable of intimidating larger carnivores such as snakes and large birds.
Do you know how big beavers grow? Do their teeth ever stop growing? Standing up on their back feet is an adaptation for the meerkat to survive in their habitats.
Baby meerkats, also known as pups, grow rapidly after birth. A meerkat can stand up on all four feet from as early as three weeks old. At about one month old, baby meerkats usually have already mastered standing on their hind legs. At four weeks old, they are already venturing outside the den. Meerkats are family-oriented and share the duty of raising the young pups. The adult meerkats in the family teach the young everything, including how to stand on their two back legs. The alpha male or an older family member may teach the young ones how to be sentries for the group.
Soon after this happens, the pups will be ready to follow the gang to forage for food. Many wild animals, especially small in size, tend to be naturally cautious of humans. However, meerkats have proven to be very friendly to humans. Meerkats are not shy of standing up when there are humans around.
Although this behavior can take some time, they do get habituated to the presence of humans. Want to know more about meerkats? Here are facts I have put together for you. Meerkats are not afraid of humans as long as they feel safe and sense no danger to themselves.
Each morning, as the sun comes up, the mob emerges and begins looking for food. They use their keen sense of smell to locate their favorite foods, which include beetles , caterpillars, spiders, and scorpions. They'll also eat small reptiles, birds, eggs, fruit, and plants. Back at the burrow, several babysitters stay behind to watch over newborn pups.
This duty rotates to different members of the mob, and a sitter will often go all day without food. The babysitters' main job is to protect pups from meerkats in rival mobs, who will kill the babies if they can. While the rest of the mob forages for food, one or more meerkats, called a sentry, will find a high point, like a termite mound, and perch on their back legs, scanning the sky and desert for predators like eagles , hawks , and jackals.
A sentry who senses danger will let out a high-pitched squeal, sending the mob scrambling for cover. Meerkats dig safe places called bolt-holes throughout their foraging area, where they can hide in an emergency. If caught in the open by a predator, a meerkat will try to look fierce, lying on its back and showing its teeth and claws. If a group is confronted, the meerkats will stand together, arching their backs, raising their hair, and hissing.
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