Meerkat in North Carolina Zoo

On 20th July 2008, we visited the North Carolina Zoo with good friends, Didi and Gigi. It was a hot day and most of the animals were either hiding or sleeping. However, the meerkat display was indoor and a lot of meerkats came out while we were there. They were from 11 to 15 inches in height about 20 feet away from where we stood. Luckily, we had our 70-300mm lens with us and we were able to take some close-up shots for the meerkats.

Meerkats are mongooses. They live in open country of Africa's temperate grasslands and savannas. In this picture, you can see that the meerkat sits upright. In fact, they like doing that. When they sit upright on top of rocks or termite mounds, they will be able to see things further away. If they detect distant threats, they will make some sharp bark sounds to alarm everyone. Then, they all head to underground for safety.