Solar panels of the animal world

"Forget the worries

And hold the tail with the pipe!

That’s the whole secret.

Hakuna matata!"

In Swahili, “Akuna matata” means “no problem.”

Cheerful little people

In the wild, meerkats live only on the flat and rocky terrain of South Africa, in the areas of Kalahari, Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa, from Lake Chad to the foothills of Cape Good Hope. The African tribes inhabiting these regions have two beliefs associated with these funny animals. According to one of them, meerkats are called "solar angels." Their hair is so saturated with the sun that it literally glows in the dark. And they protect the settlements and cattle from the moon werewolf devils attacking people and animals.

In another belief, it is believed that the souls of deceased people move to meerkats. Indeed, this is how people stand at the entrance to their home. In South Africa, meerkats are tamed and exterminated in the homes of mice, rats, snakes and other reptiles. “Watch deserts”, “magic gnomes”, “cheerful little people” - these little predators are so lovingly called here.

Meerkats appeared on the world screen more than once - in the British documentary series "Meerkat Estate" (2005-2008). This was followed by a sequel to “The Meerkat Manor. History Begins” (2008). In the same year, James Honeyborn made a film about the life of meerkats in the Kalahari desert. But true fame came with the release on the world screens of the animated films “The Lion King” and “Timon and Pumbaa” (1994, 1995-98), and their main characters became universal favorites. Adroit, cunning, quirky, agile, adventurous Timon (by the way, named after the ancient Greek philosopher - a skeptic and satirist) and an honest, good-natured Pumbaa (Simpleton), have fun, live without troubles and worries, hold their tail with a pipe.

I'm good, handsome on my own

Meerkats belong to the mongoose family. The body length of the meerkat is 25-35 cm, and the tail is 18-25 cm. Weight is up to 1.5 kg. Life expectancy is 12-14 years. Females are usually trickier, faster, bolder and larger than males, but males are more aggressive. The meerkat has a striped body and abdomen very light, ears and tail tip are black.

Slender and thin limbs, four-fingered legs with very long nails, an elongated head with a trunk-like stigma, a sharp mustached muzzle, dark spots around the eyes and permanent disheveledness give the meerkat a comic and touching look. These are the smallest, cutest and most charming of the mongooses. Favorite position - stand in a column. And here is very important tail, strong as a rod. It helps not only maneuver, but also serves as a support during your favorite pastime.

Meerkats have excellent vision, hearing and sense of smell. The dark circles around the eyes absorb the excess of sunlight, so the animals can calmly look at the bright sun. Small ears are closed with special folds when the animal is underground. Long vibris on the face help them navigate in the dark. Meerkats run fast, jump far, easily and deftly climb trees and rocks.

The mating season in meerkats lasts from October to March. Caring for each other, the animals rub gently, bite each other's faces and cheeks. Usually from 2 to 5 cubs weighing about 30 grams are born. If the mother leaves to feed, one of the adults ("nannies") looks after the babies.

As early as 3 months, babies begin to eat adult food. When the young come out of the holes to the surface, they can be fed by any adult from the pack (this behavior is found only in hyenas). In the meerkat community, there is always a "kindergarten" where obedience is unquestioning. The love for their children in these animals is so great that adults, saving them, often sacrifice their own lives. Meerkats become adults at the age of 1 year.

Behavior - Exemplary

Listening to something, meerkats rise on their hind legs and stand upright. The animals love to bask in the sun at the entrance to the hole. They usually live in colonies of 20-30 individuals. A smaller number makes the group vulnerable to predators; a larger one makes it difficult to maintain close relations with each other. Meerkats dig burrows and feed together, raise cubs and are friendly. Every day the animals perform a lovely ritual - they sniff and stroke each other, as they touch a muzzle in a kiss. All this maintains family cohesion.

Matriarchy reigns in the meerkat colonies. Evil lawbreakers are expelled from the family, which is tantamount to death. All responsibilities are strictly distributed - hunters and diggers, teachers and nannies, sentries and cleaners - each is busy with his own business.

The dominant female chooses a hole, a feeding place and gives birth to cubs, but the Alfazamet is determined in fights. Each family has its own group smell, because they do everything together - they sleep and play, hunt and eat, fight with enemies. Fierce fights often happen between different clans. If one family captures another, then all the cubs will be killed. Usually meerkats fight over territory and free burrows.

My home is my castle

Meerkat holes are real bastions up to 2 meters deep with hundreds of exits. There are equipped bedrooms and pantries, children's rooms and even toilets. The hole always maintains the same temperature, silence and calm. Here they hide from heat, cold, danger and raise children. Daily burrow cleaning is also required.

Meerkats change territory in search of food, fleas and ticks can also make them change their home. Adults usually carry small animals in their teeth.

Eagles, eagle owls and jackals represent the main danger to the meerkat families. Therefore, the meerkat "watch" is always on guard. These animals meet enemies shoulder to shoulder, militantly lift their tails, bounce and bite their teeth, boldly rush into battle. From large natural enemies are often fleeing.

The family's morning begins with sunbathing, followed by traditional kisses and affection, and meerkats enter the new day. Under the protection of the "sentries" the youngsters play and frolic, adults are looking for food. They get food by flair, run back and forth, sniff all corners and nooks and crannies. Turn over stones, look under driftwood, climb trees and rocks. Beetles, grasshoppers, lizards, insect larvae, snakes and scorpions are caught and eaten. They will not be protected from dexterous sneakers of mice, birds and nests with eggs or chicks.

Meerkats feed on everything that cannot escape, fly away or crawl away. They are more omnivorous than predators. The basis of their diet is insects, moisture is supplied by desert melons and watermelons, plant roots. Despite their small size, friendly and funny appearance, together meerkats are able to kill cobra. They chase the snake for a long time in small flocks, leading to exhaustion. And then, when the cobra gets tired, the strongest male kills her with a bite in the spine. Scorpions hit the ground sharply or hit hard with their paw, stunning, and then eat. By the way, the whole flock takes part in the sharing of prey.

After lunch, rest. Meerkats take a wide variety of poses - they sleep on their backs, on their sides or stomach. Many doze standing, leaning on the tail. The “Sentinel” always climbs higher and stands on its hind legs all the time, watching the sky and warning of an approaching danger.

Conversations, conversations, word for word stretches ...

Meerkats have their own language. It has 20 words. Therefore, meerkats always have the opportunity for verbal contact. In case of danger, they yap, whistle and trill, express pleasure, scream or grumble, reporting about those who are lost or lagging behind, and calming the cubs, they emit a quiet cry, similar to "uy-uyo." Sometimes animals communicate in whole phrases from 2-4 signals ("far - close", "high - low").

Learning is life, and ignorance is death

A poisonous insect can become not only food, but also a real threat to life. But the peculiarity of meerkats is that they feed on what could make the diet of other animals deadly. Therefore, cubs learn from adult meerkats to cope with such dangerous prey as a scorpion.

Mutual assistance is common in the meerkat family, helping survival. It turns out that adult meerkat “teachers” bring such prey for “pedagogical” purposes. First, the dead (scorpions, snakes, spiders), then immobilized, but alive, and then just alive. As the “disciples” grow up, the scorpion brought to them becomes “livelier”, and so on, until the young meerkat begins to hunt independently and becomes strong and dexterous. After all, the bite of many "food" is fatal.

The process of such training is long, but only the help of adults helps young meerkats to survive in a harsh world, where there is a lot of very dangerous and poisonous food. Of course, a young meerkat in childhood might not have met a scorpion. But adults “introduce” them purposefully, because meerkats have an “extended adaptation version” of nutrition. Insect feeding is not only about getting the right protein, but also moisture. Therefore, in the process of evolution, meerkats appeared chewing surfaces of teeth (predators do not have them) for grinding chitinous shells, and they also refused regular watering.

Meerkats conquer the world

Recently, meerkats are very popular as pets. They adore warmth, are not picky about food, they are extremely curious and curious. They like to sit on the shoulder of the owner and view the surroundings. They do not like to wash, but they like scratching the most different parts of the body, especially the neck and back.

In the English reserve of Leicestershire, the online resource Meercatmatch.com has been created. "Meerkat is looking for a couple." So agile, agile and cheerful Lilly found a worthy couple in the face of male Mr. Darcy. Visit this site, you will not regret it.

In all zoos of the world, meerkats are universal favorites. So, on July 4, 2011, Belfast Zoo introduced the meerkat Fraggy and 4 of her cubs to the world, Paignton Zoo (Devon, UK) installed a webcam in the hole of Aurora, Kang and their babies. Two babies have appeared in the Sydney Zoo in Malawi - Zanzibar and Nairobi, and in 2005, a webcam from the meerkat hole has been working in the Hampshire Zoo.

The Novosibirsk Zoo is proud of the prevailing pair of meerkats from Krasnoyarsk and St. Petersburg (the animals feel great). In Chelyabinsk Zoo, a long-held dream came true - in April 2011, a resident of the city gave Suri a meerkat park. And so that the animal did not get bored, they found a female from St. Petersburg in pair. In the Moscow Zoo, after the sad events associated with the death of the female meerkat, the employees managed to go out all the babies and attach them to the family. Now this close-knit group of meerkats scared all the surrounding crows. At the sight of predators, the animals stray into a tight group and, with their tails raised, go shoulder to shoulder at the enemy.

In the Kansas City Zoo, the meerkat was abducted, then found, information about his health and diet was additionally reported. In the London Zoo, meerkats received colored Easter eggs from papier-mâché as a present. They examined and opened gifts with curiosity. Inside were the favorite treats of these animals ....

In the United Arab Emirates, in the Al Ain zoo for meerkats, they created a luxurious aviary that imitates the natural environment - sand, burrows, snags and rocks. Everything was done so that the animals felt at home here. They play, brush each other's hair, bask in the sun. Their daytime sleep is short, therefore, having arrived in Al Ain, you can always see their cunning, pretty smiling faces.

They are fed twice a day. After eating, the meerkats huddle together and begin to clean each other. Observation of these animals allows you to feel the atmosphere of warmth, joy and peace of mind. They remind everyone that every day of life is a gift of fate. And only love and friendship help these little animals survive in harsh nature.

And this story looks absolutely unusual. Not far from the South African city of Sun City, Predator World Wildlife Farm is home to a small lioness Zinzi, abandoned by her mother. Two-year-old meerkat Bob took the baby under his protection. Now they are friends forever! And together they enjoy life without parting either during fun games or during the hours of a sweet dream ... Matuna Akuna!

Watch the video: Ultrasonic Solar Powered AnimalRodent Repeller (March 2024).