Slender-Tailed Meerkat

• Range: Southern Africa, Semi-arid plains.
  Habitat: Avoids woodland and dense vegetation, lives in the scrub.
  
• Description: Bodies range from 10 to 14 inches without the tail.
  
• Diet: These mammals eat insects, spiders, scorpions, centipedes and millipedes, as well as other small mammals and birds, eggs, lizards, snakes (including venomous) snails, roots, tubers, young shoots, fruit and succulents. They are resistant to scorpion and snake venoms.
  
• Behavior: Lives in complex social groups with clearly defined duties. Rely on teamwork and cooperation to ensure survival of the group. Very active in the daytime and are often seen sunning themselves or watching for intruders. Very vocal and communicate with a variety of grunts, squeaks and noises. They are capable of building their own burrows, but often take over abandoned squirrel and rodent burrows. Meerkats often live to be 8 years old in captivity.
  
• Location: Meerkats are found in the small mammal exhibit of Kopje. The Zoo houses five male and two female meerkats.