Our area assessor for the Eastern Cape,Garden Route and Route 62,
Wendy Dwight, recently enjoyed a meerkat adventure when she overnighted at
De Zeekoe Guest Farm in Oudtshoorn. Today she shares her experience with our readers...
Did you know that 90% of a meerkat family comprises females? And that the dominant female does not even feed her babies – all the other ladies in the family do?! Everyone in the meerkat family has a job to do, which changes continually, and the pecking order in the family changes daily too, by way of scented marking. These are only a couple of the fascinating things I learned while on a Meerkat Adventure with Devey.
After a pre-sunrise start – our small group had a cup of coffee (WHAT is it about coffee in the bush that makes it extra delicious?) and walked a short way, camp chairs in arm, to wait for the meerkats to make their appearance. We were all seated quietly, a few metres from the hole where Devey expected them to make their appearance, when as the sun popped out, so the first head popped out to take a really good check on what was happening in the surrounds!
While these cuties are entirely wild (you could never treat them like pets) – they are not intimidated at all by the human voice, nor, for that matter, us being there at all, clicking our cameras. However, the shuffle or crackling of a bush, which could mean danger from a predator, sends them scuttling back into the hole in seconds.
The underground tunnels inhabited by this family have been around for approximately 300 years, spanning hectares – and grow all the time (like Devey says, what girl is ever happy with the size of her house?!)
These tours run daily, strictly weather permitting – meerkats do not like getting wet!
For more info:
