I have a wildlife zoo-Chapter 751 - 750 Meerkat Sentry

Adult meerkats have slender bodies, with sharp triangular heads, and bright, spirited eyes, exuding a sense of intelligence. The newborn meerkats, at about five or six weeks old, are short and round, looking like little furry macaques.

“Heyyo, Timon, is that you, Timon!”

“Cute and cuddly!”

“So tiny!”

“Those dark eye circles, must be staying up late!”

Fang Ye said, “The black eye circles of meerkats are meant to reduce the glare of the intense African sunshine, helping them to spot predators in the sky.

Their terrestrial predators are jackals and cobras, and in the sky, eagles and hawks!

They can drive away land predators with shouts and mock battles, by circling and harassing, but with those in the sky, they can only hide in their burrows, so it’s common to see meerkats gazing upward.

Their vision is very good, able to spot raptors a kilometer away, and avoid them in advance.”

The animal keeper had hidden some insects in the sand, and the young meerkats were scraping around, searching for food.

The outside world was novel, and using new skills was fun for them.

Some of the young meerkats, wanting to show off their newly learned skills to the adults, started scratching the tails of those on lookout, swiping with their little paws.

But the adults, busy with their lookout duty, didn’t pay attention to the little ones.

Compared to the youngsters, the adult meerkats were much quicker at digging holes, their paws a blur, sand flying behind them, and soon they had excavated a large hole.

Digging in the sand, searching for food, standing guard, or just basking in the sun!

Some meerkats leaned against each other, grooming each other’s fur.

Meerkats are social animals, with a strong sense of community and deep affection for each other.

Just then, the sentinel on top of the sand dune seemed to have spotted something.

Suddenly it let out a loud, short bark, a warning call similar to that of a dog!

“Aow!”

Turning its head, it barked again!

This meerkat appeared to hold a high status within the group; after two calls, the other meerkats immediately scattered.

It was like students skipping school to play games in an internet café, suddenly hearing someone shout, “Teacher’s coming!”

Some meerkats leapt up and hid in the crevices between stones, with just the tops of their heads peeking out, while others darted into their burrows or took cover inside a nearby cardboard box.

They fled with incredible speed, kicking up sand with their feet, casting up a cloud of dust in a single swift movement, and then they were gone, as if a ninja had used the art of earth evasion!

The adult meerkats reacted quickly. Some young meerkats, not staying close to the adults, looked up at the sentry, unaware of what had happened. They appeared quite bewildered and realized everyone had disappeared. They paused for a moment before they began looking for a place to hide.

The netizens watching were stunned!

“Hey, that was so sudden, I didn’t even realize what was happening!”

“Haha, the one hiding in the cardboard box is hilarious!”

Fang Ye couldn’t help but laugh as well, “Keeping watch is one of the most interesting behaviors of meerkats! When you visit the zoo, you should pay close attention to this.

The sentinel meerkat will climb to a higher point to survey the safety of the area. Once it detects danger, the sentinel will sound a loud alarm, and the other members will quickly dive into their burrows or cease their activities within.

At the same time, the sentinel will be the first to come out of the burrow to check if the danger is still present. Only when the danger has passed and the sentinel stops the alarm, will the others emerge from their burrows.

Adult meerkats can make 30 different calls, each with a unique meaning. They can distinguish between aerial and terrestrial predators and even the level of danger.

Within the meerkat community, the more experienced sentinels are more trusted by their companions. If the sentinel is very experienced, the other meerkats will quickly hide. Otherwise, they might look up and around to confirm the presence of a predator!”

After a while, once the sentinel confirmed there was no danger and called out twice, the other meerkats began to slowly emerge from their hiding spots.

Young meerkats also have to learn to keep watch from their elders, starting from a very young age.

They have the appearance of children trying to act grown-up while on watch, which looks very cute.

But keeping watch is no easy task. Young meerkats, still in development, find it hard to balance on their two legs, and after a while, their legs grow sore.

They drop back to the ground, yawn and take a rest, or lie on their companions, frolic, chatter, emit a few sounds, and continue their watch.

The warm sun casting down only intensifies the meerkats’ drowsiness.

After about fifteen minutes, the round bright eyes of the young meerkats gradually narrowed into slits.

They became increasingly wobbly but still persisted in keeping watch, looking very cute.

Just born cubs need to sleep for long hours, and even if they want to stay diligent, their bodies simply don’t allow it.

Their heads slowly drooped down and, with a “thud,” hit the ground!

And just like that, with their heads on the ground, they began to “zzz” and went to sleep.

Seeing this amusing scene, the viewers couldn’t help but laugh.

At that moment, an animal keeper came in, placing a sweet potato spiked with green beans, resembling a porcupine.

“Eh, I saw on a documentary that meerkats eat insects, do they also eat vegetables?”

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“This isn’t food, is it? It’s for playing with, right?”

The meerkats observed this strange porcupine cautiously before slowly approaching.

With tails up, arching their backs, they began to chatter noisily!

One meerkat took the initiative to attack, slapping it with a paw and knocking two green beans off its back.

It was just a ruse!

With the alarm lifted, the adults resumed their sentry duties and patrols.

The little meerkats that shrunk back earlier now approached with curiosity, began biting the sweet potato porcupine, and pulled off all the green beans from its back.

It turned out quite interesting, and the youngsters had a great time, inadvertently building up their courage.