Meerkat: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the meerkat lives – recorded in 4 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Suricata suricatta
Group	Mongooses, civets & genets
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	4 countries
Continents	Africa, Europe
Mass	30.5 g (birth weight); 725 g (adult weight)
Class	Mammal
Order	Carnivora
Family	Herpestidae

Where does the meerkat live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the meerkat in 4 countries and territories across Africa and Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a meerkat?

Wikidata records the following for the meerkat: mass 30.5 g (birth weight); 725 g (adult weight).

Is the meerkat endangered?

The meerkat’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the meerkat?

The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) is a mammal in the order Carnivora and the family Herpestidae, genus Suricata. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the meerkat

The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-body length is around 24–35 cm (9.4–13.8 in), and the weight is typically between 0.62 and 0.97 kg (1.4 and 2.1 lb). The coat is light grey to yellowish-brown with alternate, poorly defined light and dark bands on the back. Meerkats have foreclaws adapted for digging and have the ability to thermoregulate to survive in their harsh, dry habitat. Three subspecies are recognised.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Meerkat (revision 1376329007), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q134015 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).