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Meerkat, or their scientific name, Suricate, are small mammals that live in the desert where the food is scarce. In the desert, there are animals such as hawks, coyotes, snakes, and scorpions which all can either kill or harm a Meerkat really bad. With all the danger, the only defensive weapons that a Meerkat has are his own claws, which are only 2 centimeters long. Due to the extreme changes in temperature of the day and night of desert, there are few vegetation's or insects that can survive, and these few vegetation's and insects are the only things that a Meerkat survive on. With all the disadvantages working against a Meerkat, it is neither endangered nor threatened. So whats the secret of surviving for a Meerkat?
Well, thats the main reason why I did my project on the Meerkat. See, Meerkat never live alone, they live in groups called mobs, which are comprised between 5 to 30 individuals. The Meerkats highly structured society uses teamwork as the core of their survival strategy and also the key of their success. The Meerkats are so well organized that an ancient tribe worshipped them as gods; they even tried to copy the Meerkats strategies of hunting. In a mob of Meerkats, there is only one breeding pair, known as the alpha pair. The alpha pair is also in charge of governing the mob.
The alpha pair changes from time to time. If a mob gets too big, the strongest members of the group will wonder off and try to form another mob of their own. When the mob is off to hunt, they occupy themselves with different jobs. While some hunt, dig and forage, the mob will have a lookout, or two, to keep watch of the mob. Meerkats have very good eyesight, and the lookout take this as an advantage. The lookout has the responsibility of the lives of the mob, including its own.
Thats why the lookout is always completely focused on its job. If it werent, a lightning fast hawk could kill any member of the mob instantly or the entire mob could be wiped out by a group of coyotes. In order for the lookout to do a good job, it will try to climb onto the top of a branch so it can detect danger from a farther distance. This is where the claws and the tail of a Meerkat come to use. The Meerkats use their claws to hold on to the branch while using the tail for balance.
The tail of a Meerkat is also used for communication. For example, when a Meerkats tail is up, it tells the other Meerkats around it that there is something there that might threaten the life of a member of the mob; if its down, then you know that the Meerkat is safe or is not aware of the danger. The claws also have a different purpose. Meerkats claws are curved and are aerodynamic, it allows the Meerkat to dig at a fast speed which is useful when its time to hunt and also useful for digging holes.
A Meerkat has a long and slender body and 4 short but strong legs. Its slender body allows it to squeeze through tight underground burrows while its legs allow it to make a quick escape at a high speed. With all the cool features of a Meerkat, the most important feature that a Meerkat has is his furs. You might ask, a Meerkat lives in the desert anyway, it doesnt need fur.
Well, the main reason that an individual Meerkat can survive in the desert is because of its fur. Without its fur, Meerkats cannot survive on the desert on its own its own or in a mob. The fur has many different uses to a Meerkat. From this picture in the corner you notice that the fur around the eyes of the Meerkat is black, which act like an equivalent to sunglasses and it allows the animal to see very clearly in bright days. This aids the Meerkats greatly, because airborne predators often fly in front of the sun to avoid detection.
Most people think that the desert is just very hot. Well, thats not true. The desert is extremely hot during daytime and extremely cold during nighttime. The Meerkat has short, parallel stripes across their backs; these extend from the base of the tail to the shoulders and are unique to each animal. However there is no fur on the underside of the Meerkat, the Meerkat uses this area to absorb heat while standing on its rear legs during daytime, which is usually done the first thing during morning. That way, when the cold nighttime is over, the Meerkat has a chance of warming up.
Most Meerkats become sexually mature at the age of one, but only the alpha pair has the right to have offspring. The babies are born within the underground burrow, the babies ears will open in about 10 days, and eyes at 10 - 14 days, they will not come above the ground until at least 3 weeks of age. The mob will assign a babysitter for the youngs while the alpha pair is off to hunt. Meerkats have plenty physical adaptations, but they also have inner adaptations as well.
Scorpions roamed the desert, the Meerkats who are not immune to the scorpions poison were wiped out leaving only the ones who are able to survive deadly poison of a scorpion. Therefore, all the Meerkats who are alive today are immune to not only scorpion poison but snakes as well. With the ability to overcome the poison, Meerkats made scorpions and snakes part of their diet. At the same time, Meerkats stomach acid also grew stronger to digest the hard outer layer of the scorpions.
Meerkats make tons of weird noises. Recently it has been proven that the notes carry an element of meaning. How these calls evolved is not clear. Their language enables them to engage strange social activities, such as wrestling matches and foot races. In conclusion, the Meerkats are a specie of very interesting animals that have developed a language of their own, which few other species have done.
They are able to survive in a harsh environment with many disadvantages working against them, and they are able to socialize well in a large group. These few of the many factors about a Meerkat are what make Meerkats one of a kind.
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Research essay sample on Tail Of A Meerkat Member Of The Mob Meerkats
