THE MEERKAT (Suricata suricatta) The meerkat , otherwise known as the suricate, is a small, furry member of the Mongoose family (Herpestidae) that can stand upright. The creatures have round, fluffy bellies with smaller, more slender limbs. Their snouts are small and pointed, coming to a sharp tip at the animal’s black nose. It lives in the African Savanna grasslands in groups of twenty five to fifty. These groups are called mobs or manors. The female meerkat gives birth to two to five pups at
“Disturbed Preserve” fig.2 fig.3 The “disturbed preserves” are areas in which there has been human alteration of the landscape, whether it be infrastructural installations or beaten trails, that has then been left alone. These areas are recovering forests that normally transition from primary growth to secondary, but are made vulnerable through these artificial developments that alter the dynamics of the landscape in which the native species would emerge. Consequently, these sites, which are