So They Build - Meerkats

Meerkats are certainly charismatic. Their sentinel behaviour makes them different from other animals. Whenever we do a display of meerkat books, the books leave the library very quickly. The students that use our school library live near the zoo and visit it frequently. It has a meerkat enclosure that they are always keen to visit.

Meerkats live in groups called mobs. Living in a mob helps the meerkats to find food, protect themselves and look after their young. All meerkats in a mob help with the work. Individuals have different skills that can help a group.They are constantly on the lookout for animals that may attack their mob, such as eagles and hawks. When they spot an enemy, they may scurry into their underground burrows or attack! 

Meerkats are skilled builders, crafting intricate tunnel systems beneath the earth. This network of tunnels is an intricate feat of engineering. The tunnels are used as sleeping quarters, safe nurseries for their young and refuge from the extreme heat, the harsh desert elements and predators.

There are few animals that work together as well as meerkats. When it comes to getting things done, meerkats know that teamwork is the way to go. Families of these furry little critters often live together, forming communities of up to fifty members. They protect other group members by taking turns being a lookout and scanning the area for danger. Everyone in the mob participates in gathering food, keeping a look out for predators, and taking care of the babies. 

This week these books were on display, but then all were borrowed.

And some stories:

And the most popular, but always missing in action:

For the chapter book enthusiasts, look for these series

3rd July World Meerkat Day

World Meerkat Day started in Dubbo, Australia. It was an initiative of Karen Ellis, the meerkat keeper at Taronga Western Plains Zoo and it has now become a day to heighten awareness of meerkats at several world zoos. She felt that lots of animals had a day, but meerkats didn't and as they were her favourite animal she decided to instigate it.

Meerkats are mongooses famed for their upright posture. They often stand on their rear legs and gaze alertly over the southern African plains where they live. Mothers can even nurse their young while standing.

Meerkats  work together in numbers. A few will typically serve as lookouts, watching the skies for birds of prey, such as hawks and eagles, that can snatch them from the ground. A sharp, shrill call is the signal for all to take cover. While a few individuals guard the group, the rest busy themselves foraging for the foods that make up their varied diet. Meerkats will eat insects, lizards, birds, and fruit. When hunting small game, they work together and communicate with purring sounds. 

Beautiful pictures and easy reading format will help children fall in love with meerkats as they are a popular choice of characters for children's books.

Meet meerkats first then read about their antics!

• Meerkats  by Katie Woolley

• Meerkats  by James Maclaine

• Meerkats by Laura Marsh

• Meerkats  by Valerie Bodden

• Baby Meerkats by Ginjier L. Clarke

• Meet the Meerkat by Darrin Lunde 

• Meerkat Mail by Emily Gravett

• Meerkat Splash by Aura Parker

• Little Meerkat by Aleesah Darlison

• Meerkat Choir  by Nicki Greenberg

• Milly the Meerkat by Oakley Graham

• Legs: The Tale of a Meerkat Lost and Found by Sarah Dodds 

• That Naughty Meerkat! by Ian Whybrow & Garry Parsons

• My Meerkat Mum  by Ruth Paul

and a few short chapter books

• Meerkat Madness  four titles in series by Ian Whybrow

• The Mystery of Meerkat Hill one of the titles in the series by Alexander McCall Smith about the eight year old Precious Ramotswe.

• Ninja Meerkats  ten book series by Gareth P. Jones.

21st June Meerkats

The meerkat toy is the most borrowed toy in the library. I bought it to go with Emily Gravett's Meerkat Mail,  but now Richard Byrne's Millicent and Meer and Jan Latta's Mia the Meerkat are borrowed just as much.