Oudsthoron Meerkats

Oudsthoron is the Ostrich capital of the world but it wasn't ostriches we had come here to see. We were here to meet the meerkats in the Klein Karoo, a semi desert region in South Africa. 

We met our guide at the roadside at about 4am and set off into the Karoo, we were seated approximately a metre away from a meerkat burrow before the sun rose and we waited. We did not have to wait for long before a meerkat called a sentinel emerged from the burrow, stood on her hind legs and using her tail as a tripod to steady herself swivelled her head is all directions in search of danger, before signalling to the rest of the Mob that all was well. This small chirrup is called 'the watchman's song'.

I wanted to laugh at these adorable, comical little creature but I was completely captivated and utterly astonished at what I was witnessing as another meerkat emerged stretched and yawned before joining the sentinel. There they stood looking around them, enjoying the warmth from the rising sun and grooming themselves. Apparently they have a black solar panel on their chests that absorbs the sun, this speeds up their metabolism. They look all around and above, their dark eyes searching for danger, on land and in the sky for their biggest enemy the birds of prey.

It wasn't long before the rest of the Mob had joined them, out they popped one after another and all stood bunched together on the highest point they could find. All of them in a line, all standing upright with their little arms at their side, how funny they looked.

There were seven Meerkats in all. What an absolutely amazing experience to see these adorable little creatures emerge from their burrows and begin their day, in the wild, in their own natural habitat. The youngsters played and the older ones dug for grubs in the earth but the sentinel still stood, watching for danger, protecting the mob. All too soon they were off, all searching for grubs and insets for breakfast. They hadn't moved very far before they disappeared, totally camouflaged by the shrubs as they blended perfectly into flora of the Karoo.

We were about to leave when we heard a shriek, a meerkat had somehow got separated from the mob. This could have devastating consequences. Meerkats have poor eyesight and they wouldn't recognise him as one of their own, they would kill him on sight if they saw him, so having put out an alarm call he hid.

Meerkats 'scent' each other every day before they leave the burrow, his only chance of survival now is that the mob recognises the 'scent' as one of their own before he is seen. He must stay hidden and wait!.....

We never did learn the outcome of the little meerkats fate but as he was smart enough to hide I would like to believe he ended up back with his mob before too long.

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