Meerkat

This meerkat was getting some sun on a gorgeuos day and posing quite nicely! This is the first of three meerkats i photographed on this zoo trip (see the second at http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/27655286). The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild.