Meerkat Adoptions at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (United Kingdom)

William, the slender tailed meerkat

The slender tailed meerkat is a small mammal and a member of the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana 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. Meerkats have an average life span of 12-14 years.

Its tail is not bushy like all other mongoose species, but is rather long and thin and tapers to a black or reddish coloured pointed tip. The meerkat uses its tail to balance when standing upright. Its face tapers, coming to a point at the nose, which is brown. The eyes always have black patches around them and it has small black crescent-shaped ears that can close to exclude soil when digging. Like cats, meerkats have binocular vision, a large peripheral range, depth perception, and eyes on the front of their faces.

The information above is from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.  For more information on Meerkats and for the possible adoption of William, please see http://www.durrell.org/