Meerkat
by John Telfer
Title
Meerkat
Artist
John Telfer
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
FAA WATERCOLOR MARK DOES NOT APPEAR ON FINAL SALES
While at the San Diego Zoo, I came across this small Meerkat, it was looking all over while I was trying to get a good shot of it. It would stop and pose and then run. Finally it came to an edge and turned and posed for everyone that had been watching him run around. I read the sign while him and it indicated he was a member of the mongoose family. There was various holes around where he would run in and out of, the sign said his claws are meant for digging holes and that the Meerkat works with the rest of the Meerkats in building and protecting each other. For more information on the Meerkat please feel free to read below;
A �kat� is not a �cat� when it�s a meerkat, a vital, clever, and amazing weasel-like animal that is a member of the mongoose family. Most people know meerkats from the character Timon in The Lion King animated movie. However, instead of spending all their time with a warthog, most meerkats live in underground burrows in large groups of up to 40 individuals called a gang or a mob. For meerkats, there isn�t just safety in numbers�there�s also companionship. The mob is made up of several family groups, with one dominant pair that produces most of the offspring, but they don�t have to be related to belong to the same group. Meerkat mobs spend a lot of their time grooming and playing together to keep the family as a tight unit. This community existence helps the meerkats survive.
Many adaptations help meerkats live in their arid, dusty environment in southern Africa�s Kalahari Desert. Dark patches around their eyes act to cut down on the sun�s glare, and long, horizontal pupils give meerkats a wide range of vision. Meerkats are built for digging and have a special membrane that can cover the eye to protect it while burrowing. These small diggers also have ears that close to keep out the sand while at work. In addition, meerkats have four toes (most mongoose species have five) on each foot and very long, nonretractable claws to help them dig.
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Uploaded
May 30th, 2016
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Viewed 13,240 Times - Last Visitor from White Plains, NY on 03/27/2024 at 12:20 PM
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Comments (261)
Alex Mir
Congratulations, John! Your outstanding photograph is now featured in the 100 Favorite group! Fav/Ig
John Telfer replied:
Thank you Alex for featuring my photo in the, 100 Favorite Group, I appreciate the feature