Afterwork: Cropped, bordered, sharpened.


Indianapolis Zoo - Indianapolis, Indiana.

Meerkats are a type of Mongoose. The name Meerkat comes from the Afrikaans (Dutch population of South Africa). The English translation is marsh cat, although Meerkats don't live near marshes and they are not cats. Their proper scientific name is Suricata suricatta.(Class - Mammalia , Order - Carnivora , Family - Viverridae.) They were first named in 1776. There are three different subspecies of Meerkats.

Meerkats vision is outstanding. They have a dark band around their eyes, which reduces any glare from the sun. As a result, Meerkats have the ability to see a predatory bird as they look directly into the sun. A Meerkat removes sand from its eyes by blinking. Between the eye and eye lid there is a white membrane called the nictitating membrane. This membrane acts as a windshield wiper and removes sand from their eyes with every blink.

However, their ability to see things close up is not as good. Furthermore, they seem to have a problem with depth perception, not being able to focus within 20 feet (6 meters) of themselves. Often they will bob their head up and down trying to get the perspective right. As a result of this nearsightedness, they will usually miss food directly in front of them. They often depend on their sense of smell to find food.


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