Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Meerkats

Tim Clutton Brack's article , Meerkats Stand Tall , Nnational Geographic , September 2002 , reports about the life of the meerkat.
Meerkats live in Kalahari, Africa . They are mammals and live in large groups. They live among 40 members. Cooperation and group loyalty are very important to them. For example,while the group is eating , one meerkat acts like their guard against predators. When the guard feels some danger , it gives an alarm. If there isn't any denger, it gives a ''watchman's song'' signal.Another characteristic is that they have long claws that they use for making tunnels. Also they use their tails for walking on their 2 legs for balance .

3 comments:

  1. Meerkats walk by using only 2 legs like people. It's very interesting!

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  2. I agree with Soomin, it's very interesting how the meerkat walks on two legs, like us! Also the group loyalty and the cooperation in the meerkat groups is fascinating.

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  3. in the toefl class, i remember listening about how some researchers think that the guard meerkat is not doing others a favor when he is standing guard but it's for his own safety. he draws predator's attention away from himself by making the others run.

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