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Morris the Meerkat (2/26)


This is also part of this series: All About Animals (26)

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Subjects: Animal Behaviour, Animals, Evolution, Natural History, Nature

Grade Level: K-Gr3
Producer: BBC
Closed Captioned: No		 Running Time: 25 mins
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Study Guide: No
Copyright Date: 2004
Available in French: No

Morris lives in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa with his mum (Mama), his dad (Papa) and the rest of the Meerkat gang. Gangs may have up to 40 members. Mama is the Leader of the Gang and the only female who is allowed to breed. Papa is the top male – three years old and in his prime. It gets hot in the desert, by 9:30 in the morning the temperature is already in the mid-30s, and by midday it might reach 70 degrees Celsius! Hot enough to burn the skin off the soles of your feet! The most important rule in Meerkat life is ‘All for one, and one for all!' However, although the gang is a team, not all Meerkats are born equal. If you come from another gang, there is a price to pay: babysitting naughty youngsters, and working as a sentry. Sentry duty is vital. Only by spending their time with their noses in the sand can Meerkats find enough buried food, but this means you can't watch for danger, and a digging Meerkat is very vulnerable to attack from the air by Eagles and Hawks. Meerkats have solved this problem with a very effective surveillance system. One gang member is on sentry duty at all times, watching for danger. Morris may only be young, but he is a bit of a scorpion specialist. Scorpions are his favourite snack. He is learning how to dig (during the morning shift each gang member will excavate more than 400 holes and shift 50 times its own weight of sand). He is also finding out when to confront his enemies (poisonous snakes like Yellow Cobras, Puff Adders and metre-long Rock Monitors) and when to run (if you spot a Martial Eagle).

Links: http://http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/

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