|
|
|
Tic is peacefully resting after her annual physical exam. Don't let that sedate look fool you, these animals have lightening fast reflexes. Living in large social groups meerkats have a strict hierarchy with one male and one female being alpha members chasing off all other competition. The meerkat groups have a sentry and even enforcers to maintain order within the gang. The alpha female is usually the only one to reproduce with 3-4 litters per year. Feeding on mostly insects they also have been known to eat eggs and small birds. They are naturally resistant to scorpion and cobra venom so with those fast reflexes will capture and eat these scary creatures. Weighing only 1.5lbs the small fearless animals have been known to take on larger predators with their gangs. The neighborhood they live in is the hot sands of the Kalahari Desert not exactly a place most of us could survive for very long. So remember that even in the animal kingdom big things can come in small packages.
Peter Nichols, DVM, has been a resident of Washington for 40 of the last 47 years. He has been involved in community organizations like Rotary and active in the Tazewell County Veterinary Association, Mississippi Valley Veterinary Association and a member of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. He has been in private veterinary practice for 22 years in Washington and Germantown Hills while also over seeing animal health at the Peoria Zoo for the last 13 years.
