Who is the mink? Meerkats: description, photo

Surikats have long been favorites of many directors. They are the heroes of popular cartoons and films. So let's see, who is the mink?

The meerkats are angels of the sun

Where food is difficult to find, and much of what comes across is not only inedible, but also dangerous, different animals adapt to life in different ways. The most interesting is the meerkats, who educate and train their cubs in almost the same way as people.

Meerkats are mammals from the mongoose family. They weigh only about 700 grams, and the body length does not exceed 30 cm. And these crumbs have perfectly learned to cope with the hardships of deserts.

The inhabitants of southern Africa believe that the meerkats are the angels of the sun, who were sent to them to protect them from the lunar angels (this is the name of werewolves in Africa), attacking lost or lost cattle.

We are not going to judge how true the werewolf legend is, but the fact that snake and scorpion are food for the meerkats, which are deadly enemies for other animals, is an established fact. Below are the meerkats, photos of which were made at the time of the hunt for the cobra.

And just the extraction of their dangerous food becomes the first method of training kids. It is not known why nature did not endow the baby with a natural instinct, but adults have to teach their youth and explain to them what can be eaten or not, because they are not oriented at all.

In the world, many animals teach their young hunts, but the meerkats do it in a slightly different way. They do not just show the principle of hunting by their example, but gradually train them in the very process of hunting.

First, adult members of the pack bring babies of harmless beetles and lizards to the babies and release them from the cubs under their noses, pushing food to them if they too actively try to escape. Thus, they focus on an unfamiliar object. As they mature, the meerkats begin to bring poisonous snakes and scorpions, whose poison is deadly even to humans, not so much for such a baby. But on adults it, oddly enough, does not work. And carefully monitor the process until they are convinced that the kids can cope on their own. Only after this, the young begin to take on the hunt with adults.

So, who is the mink? Firstly, it is an excellent educator who, for the sake of the common good for the clan, is ready to transfer his knowledge and skills to the younger generation.

Family of meerkats

Surikats, like gophers, live in large clans, the head of which is the dominant female. Zverek can never live alone, not only because he will not be able to get his own food, he alone will just go crazy, because he, like man, needs communication, he likes to "talk", he needs to protect and protect someone, And also feel that he needs someone.

Every morning, waking up, the family of meerkats exchange mutual caresses, greet each other, congratulate each other on a new day, together take sun baths and make a morning toilet.

Each member of the clan is ready to defend his family to the last drop of blood. They are often compared with samurai for courage and complete fearlessness. With the whole clan they are able to drive even the enemy, far exceeding their size, for example, the steppe wolf.

The food is also collected collectively. And while the group hunts, specially placed sentries watch the potential danger, and in the event of a threat, they alert other members of the family with sound signals. By the way, the meerkats are perfectly fluent in speech and can make a lot of sounds, depending on the situation.

So who is this mink? Secondly, these are social animals that live by their own rules and strictly adhere to them.

SDA for meerkats

As already mentioned above, the animal is a social animal, and, like in any society, they have their own rules, even road traffic.

During the movement of the family, the dominant female is at the head, but only as long as there is no danger ahead. If this happens, then the least important clan for the clan is advanced.

This happens because the survival of the whole family depends on the alpha-female, so they prefer to risk those members of the family whose loss will not lead to the disintegration of the clan as a whole.

Upbringing of the young

Raising the young in the family of meerkats is done by "nannies", i.e. All babies are under the supervision of two or three adults, while the rest of the family hunt. After the young grow up a little, they are handed over to "teachers" - the meerkats, who will teach them hunting and other necessary skills.

It is interesting that the offspring in the clan are brought only by the dominant female, exceptions can be made if the family is small and there is a clear shortage of young animals. In all other cases, the female, who dared to bring the cub, can be expelled from the clan or killed by her babies. And the females conflict precisely in the "moment of murder", between them there can be rigid fights. But as soon as the alpha-female is allowed from the burden, she can safely leave her cubs with the one whose offspring she recently killed or quietly nurse the children of the "rival". This is observed only in clans of meerkats.

Lifestyle

Where do the meerkats live? As stated above, their habitats are deserts in southern Africa, a place that seemed to be completely forgotten, it is impossible to survive. However, these crumbs have adapted to such conditions and excellently dig their holes in soft sand. For one minute, the marmot is able to dig sand equal to its own weight. They build entire cities with systems of underground tunnels and a multitude of entrances. The area of such a city can sometimes reach one square kilometer. Also, they do not disdain and other people's homes or natural crevices. If there is no more food near the shelter, the animals change their locality and migrate to another area. Such "moves" occur every three to four months.

How many meerkats live?

In the natural habitat, where the life of the meerkats is constantly associated with all sorts of dangers, the age of these animals is not long - only 3, maximum 5 years. Their main enemies are both birds of prey and animals, as well as large snakes that can hunt them even in burrows. That is why they pay special attention to the replenishment of the offspring, the female gives birth to cubs almost continuously, after every 80 days it brings in 3-5 young.

But in captivity, the meerkats are able to live more than 10 years. By the way, these crumbs have long and firmly won the hearts of people and perfectly get along with them side by side. Recently, they are increasingly seen not only in zoos, but also as tame animals. Below are the meerkats, photos of which were made at home.

Interesting facts about meerkats

• Females are able to feed their young, standing on their hind legs and holding the baby in the front.
• Surikats are able to remember thousands of entrances to their burrows, and in case of danger they can unerringly find any of them.
• The youth of the meerkats are very afraid of birds of prey, and they include airplanes.
• Meerkats are able to receive water from the roots of plants and fruits.
• In adult meerkats, immunity against venom of snakes and scorpions has been developed.

Afterword

So who is this mink? This is a very charismatic and affectionate animal, which can be a ruthless killer and a brave defender. This is a wonderful teacher and caring nurse. It is a predator, loving to eat delicious fruit or spine. This is a wild animal that is easily accustomed to live at home. Surikat is able to make friends, love, care for the neighbor, and the person has something to learn from him.