Meerkat Facts for Kids
Suricata suricatta · soor-ih-KAH-tuh soor-ih-KAT-uh
One meerkat stands guard on its back legs while the family eats.
- 🏃 speed: not yet checked
- ⚖️ 1.6 lb725 g1
- 📏 17 to 24 in43 to 60 cm2 long
- 🎂 10 years10 years2
- 🍽️ bugs
- Doing fine (Least Concern)
Meerkats live in big family groups called mobs. One meerkat stands up tall to watch for danger. It barks if it sees a hawk.
A mob of meerkats lives in underground burrows that they dig with their long, strong claws. While the mob looks for food, one meerkat stands guard on its back legs and calls out if it sees a hawk or a snake. The others keep digging for insects with their noses to the ground.
Meerkats are a kind of mongoose, and they live in the dry lands of southern Africa. In a mob the members share the work: some adults babysit the pups at the burrow while others look for food, and the lookouts take turns so everyone gets a chance to eat. The sentry uses different calls for danger in the sky and danger on the ground, and the others know just how to react. Meerkats eat mostly insects, plus spiders, small lizards and even scorpions.
How big is a meerkat?
Meerkat in numbers
| Length | 17 to 24 in43 to 60 cm2nose to tail tip: body 25 to 35 cm plus a tail of 18 to 25 cm |
|---|---|
| Height at the shoulder | no checked number yet |
| Weight | 1.6 lb725 g1adults |
| Top speed | no checked number yet |
| How long it lives | 10 years10 years2in human care |
| What it eats | insects, spiders, scorpions and small lizards |
| Where it lives | the dry grasslands and deserts of southern Africa |
| What kind | Mammals |
| Is it in danger? | Doing fine (Least Concern)3 |
A number we couldn’t find on a page we trust says so, instead of guessing.
Wow!
- The dark patches around a meerkat's eyes work like built-in sunglasses.
- Meerkats take turns being the lookout.
- A meerkat warms up in the morning sun by standing and facing it with its belly.
Compare the meerkat
Friends and neighbours
Fennec fox
Ostrich
LionThree questions
Books about the meerkat, free at the library
Ask a grown-up to tap the button: it shows where to borrow a book about the meerkat for free.
Where these numbers come from
- Wikidata, from Suricata suricatta, checked 30 October 2026.
- Smithsonian's National Zoo, Meerkat, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, Meerkat (Q134015), checked 30 October 2026.