MIGHTY MAMMALS Vol 2 Meerkats

Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we have a great post for you Animals lovers our there we are talking about 

MEERKATS

Meerkats are born with hair but not full coats and with their eyes closed.  They will live in the wild up to 10 years. However, in captivity they can live to be 15 years of age.  Although they are relatively healthy animals, they are unfortunately prone to bovine tuberculosis and have been known to get rabies. When they are adults at about one year of age they will weigh around 2 pounds (750 - 820 grams) and stand an average of 12 inches high (30 centimeters). When they are on all four of their feet their height is only 6 inches (15 centimeters).  Like all mongooses, they are agile hunters; however, they differ considerably from most of their other relatives.  Unlike the typical mongoose of which there are around 35 types, Meerkats live in communities and depend on one another for survival. There are three other types of sociable mongooses, the Banded, the Kousi Mansi and the Dwarf mongooses. They also live in groups, but are not usually found in the Kalahari desert.  While most mongooses are nocturnal, Meerkats hunt during the day. They live at night in burrows, which are complex tunnel systems consisting of mounds, access holes, and tunnels which lead to numerous sleeping chambers. A Meerkat community is called a mob or gang, and can  number up to 40. There is always a dominate alpha male and dominate alpha female in each gang.  The Meerkats larger mongoose relatives typically live alone or in pairs. These intelligent animals are extremely communicative and posses a large vocabulary. They flourish in their environment and are not endangered. Meerkats live in southern part of Africa which is dominated by the Kalahari desert - The Kalahari spreads over the countries of South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The Kalahari desert has little rainfall and an arid climate with open plains.  It spreads across the Southern part of Africa covering over one million square miles and is 10 times the size of Great Britain.  The land is covered by a porous or soft sand that in many places is bright orange in color.  The temperature in the summer months of October to April can reach 115 (f) or around 40 (c) which can give a sand temperature of 158 (f) or 70(c).  In this harsh environment the difference between being in the sun and shade can be up to 86 (f) or 30 (c).  The winter months from May to September are very different from the summer, you will see highs around 70 (f) or 22 (c) during the short days and lows at night  down to 14 (f) or -10 (c). Winter is the dry season.  The average rainfall is 12 inches (300 millimeters) which comes between January and April. This is towards the end of the summer. There is little surface water but there is quite a bit of moisture below the sand.  Generally, the broad plains of the Kalahari are covered with a thin coat of different types of grass and thorn scrub.  When it rains during the summer, which is rare, the desert transforms into a lush carpet of plants, grasses, and flowers.

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