Tuesday 21 June 2022

Giggle at Meerkats of Addo Elephant National Park

There’s a good chance of seeing adorable meerkat youngsters. Few animals have the charisma of the diminutive meerkat. To properly appreciate their antics, head to a park such as Addo, in South Africa. Meerkat social life is built around a pack of ten to thirty members. The day starts with a session of grooming before a foraging expedition. A sentry is posted to cry out if a hawk flies over, but if a ground predator appears the pack jumps up and down together to give the illusion that they’re charging. Otherwise their day is spent tousling, rolling around, and playing ‘follow the leader’. Everyone pays attention to the pups that emerge from the burrows after January, and the pack takes turns at nursery duty.