Africa

A place of dynamic, vast, and diverse ecosystems - from arid deserts to dense jungles. I was enticed by this world when I was a child, so I dreamt about going there and seeing all the different animals.

Years later, my studies and interests brought me to the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. I got the opportunity to join a long-term behavioural project, which focuses on studying the patterns of behaviour in the societal structure of the Meerkat.

In this section:

Studies | Conservation | Travel and Exploring

Studies

Located in the North-West par of South Africa, on the borders with Namibia and Botswana, the Kalahari is a semi-arid sandy savanna, which supports a relatively large population of flora and fauna. I was working in the very corner of the Kalahari, in the Kalahari Research Centre, which is part of the Kuruman River Reserve.

My field work encompassed close observations of the meerkats (Suricata suricatta) from dusk until dawn, when the meerkats are active above ground.

I studied the behavioural patterns of cooperative foraging and vigilance, alarm calls and protection, inter-group interactions (mobbing), social structure and hierarchy, individual eviction, cooperative breeding, and pup raising by ‘helpers’.

In the mornings, with the team we prepared the equipment for data collection, before the emerging time of the meerkats. Every day was different; we would follow a different group of meerkats on the territory of the reserve. Sometimes this meant that we might have to search for burrows situated a few kilometres away from the road, across the dunes.

Once they emerged from the burrows, the meerkats had their morning routines, such as games and grooming. Soon after, they headed off to forage across their territory and maintain their boltholes under the blazing sun.

Following are a few images from a typical data collection day, along with some interesting facts about the meerkat societies.

Meerkats sunbathing around their burrow after waking up and before going out to forage.

The way the meerkats navigate their way around their territory is fascinating.

Meerkats have over a thousand boltholes in their territories. A study showed that they know the exact location of each one of them and, in case of danger, they use the bolthole, located the closest to them.

They can recognise their surroundings extremely well, using landmarks to know the exact direction and distance to the next specific location, rather than having a continuous spatial map of their territory in their brains [1].

Throughout the day, meerkat groups remain highly vigilant of dangers, assigning a sentinel individual (or a few), whose job is to observe for potential danger, predators, or rival meerkats, approaching the groups.

Different groups with neighbouring territories inhabited the area of the Kurruman River Reserve, which enabled them to sometimes participate in between-group interactions.

Conflicts between the groups a quite costly in energy, so they were not observed too often. Nevertheless, if one did occur, it could sometimes even lead to the injury or killing of some individuals, and/or to groups losing territory [5].

A study even showed that it would be the larger groups, and groups with pups, that are more likely to win a conflict over smaller groups, which makes these conflicts a selective force amongst meerkats [5].

Meerkats often bite off the stinger of the scorpions when they catch them for a meal, even though they have higher resistance (immunity to some extent) to the scorpion’s venom.

Meerkats maintaining their boltholes.

Meerkats are highly sociable mammals, roughly consisting of groups of between 3 and 50 individuals [2].

Each group consists of a pair of a dominant female and male, who account for most of the reproductive output, and also subordinate adults (who breed a little or not at all, but still help rear the offspring), juveniles, and pups of either sex [3].

Usually, the females would remain in their natal group in order to compete for dominance as they grow up, compared to males. They, instead, would rather leave their natal group at around 2-years-old and roam around to join a new group. There, they would eventually compete for dominance [4].

Meerkats interact with other inhabitants of the savanna as well. For instance the fork-tailed drongos (Dicrurus adsimilis, left) fly around the foraging meerkat groups during the day.

Sometimes these birds make drongo-specific and mimicked false alarm calls, which cause the meerkats to flee and hide, abandoning their prey. The drongos then swoop in and steal the meerkats’ prey.

Interestingly, both the drongo-specific and the mimicked alarm calls are structurally indistinguishable from true alarm calls, against predators [6].

What I loved the most about my work there was habituating wild groups to human presence, with the aim to incorporate them to the data collection groups. Following strict protocols, the aim was to establish a close contact with the wildest groups and teach them to feel comfortable enough with us observing them from a close distance, so they can exhibit their natural range of behaviours without getting skittish.

Below are some more images capturing my time during the daily field work.

Group "Runaways" emerging from the burrow in the morning. KRC

Meerkats get their water intake predominantly from their diet. They rarely drink water directly. KRC

Sentinel individuals looking out for danger

A pup, cooling in the shade. Pups would only emerge from the natal burrows when they are around 3-4 weeks old.

Familiar chat (Oenanthe familiaris), LC, KRC

Cape Glossy Starling (Lamprotornis nitens), LC, KRC

Groundscraper thrush (Psophocichla litsitsirupa), LC, KRC

Rock martin (Ptyonoprogne fuligula), LC, KRC

Lilac-Breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus), LC, KRC

White-browed sparrow-weaver (Plocepasser mahali), LC, KRC

An individual from a wild group, being vigilant during a habituation session. KRC

Conservation

Rising global temperatures, causing extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, fires and draught, are becoming more frequent and intense. This extreme heat limits the hours meerkats can actively and safely forage above ground, reducing their ability to find food and care for their young.

Shifts in the rainfall patterns are also altering the regular availability of insects and other prey, whilst prolonged droughts reduce vegetation cover and increase predation risks.

Such environmental stresses can disrupt the complex structure that the meerkats are a part of, making it even more challenging for conservationists, to protect not only the animals themselves, but also the fragile savanna ecosystem they depend on.

Travel and Exploring

In addition to my studies, I would like to briefly share some of my travels in South Africa as well, as I was fascinated by the nature there.

After leaving the Kalahari, my next was stop was Bergville, in the Drakensberg mountain.

That was a really short stop, where I only managed to marvel at a small trek across to Sterkspruit Waterfall and a species of primates, namely the Vervet Monkeys, along the way.

The real adventure truly began when I finally crossed the country and reached a small resort town on the coast, just south of Durban, named eMkhomazi (or Umkomaas). I took a few days’ diving course to explore the unmatched beauty of the underwater world, with coral reefs, a vast variety of fish, Ragged-tooth sharks, and Sea Turtles.

After my diving adventure, I set off north, along the coastline, towards the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. I was based in St Lucia for a few days there, a small village at the very south part of the Park, full of freely roaming hippos on the streets and Vervet monkeys jumping off the trees in the gardens.

I saw plenty of wildlife, from Impala, Kudu and Waterbuck, through Hippos, African Buffalos, and Zebra, to Crowned hornbills, Mynas, Hadada ibis, a group of Saddle-billed storks with their young, and many more.

In the gallery below are included a few of the remarkable species I saw.

Hippos grazing on the mows of the houses, along the passing traffic.

Next, I made my way to the Kruger National Park, where I spent around a week, camping across the designated campsites.

It was an eventful camping experience, having some tarantulas in the kitchen space, a warthog sniffing around the tents during an online job interview I had at the time, and some hyenas browsing through the garbage bins at night.

I saw the grand Baobab trees, a pride of lions, a female Spotted Hyena with her cubs, an African Leopard yawning on a tree after a filling meal, some giraffes necking, a Secretary Bird, and many species of birds, such as kingfishers, egrets, jacanas, oxpeckers, sunbirds, shrikes, bulbuls, bee-eaters, and many others.

It is difficult to fit such a fascinating experience into a short page, however, I will share at least some in the images from Kruger below, as well.

Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), LC, St Lucia, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Sterkspruit Waterfall, Drakensberg Mountain

Common myna (Acridotheres tristis), LC, Drakensberg Mountains

Grey-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus), LC, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Lesser Kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis), NT, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

White-fronted bee-eater (Merops bullockoides), LC, Kruger National Park

Secretarybird (Sagittarius serpentarius), EN, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Southeast African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus), VU, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Crowned hornbill (Lophoceros alboterminatus), LC, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus), LC, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Marico Sunbird (Cinnyris mariquensis), LC, iSismangaliso Wetland Park

African jacana (Actophilornis africanus), LC, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana), EN, Kruger National Park

Saddle-billed Storks (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), LC, Kruger National Park

African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), LC, Kruger National Park

Impala (Aepyceros melampus), LC,
Kruger National Park — Impala (Aepyceros melampus), LC, Kruger National Park

Wahlberg's eagle (Hieraaetus wahlbergi), LC, Kruger National Park

African Baobab (Adansonia digitata), LC, Kruger National Park

Black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas), LC, Kruger National Park

Common Warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), LC, Kruger National Park

Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus), LC, Kruger National Park

African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus), VU, Kruger National Park

Vervet Monkey (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), LC, Kruger National Park

Red-billed Oxpeckers (Buphagus erythrorynchus), LC, Kruger National Park

Vervet Monkey with a juvenile (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), LC, Kruger National Park

African civet (Civettictis civetta), LC, Kruger National Park

African paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis), LC, Kruger National Park

Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), LC, Kruger National Park

Brown Snake Eagle (Circaetus cinereus), LC, Kruger National Park

Southern Ground-Hornbill (Bucorvus leadbeateri), VU, Kruger National Park

Kori Bustard (Ardeotis kori), NT, Kruger National Park

Black-chested Snake Eagle (Circaetus pectoralis), LC, Kruger National Park

Marabou Stork (Leptoptilos crumenifer), LC, Kruger National Park

Blue-cheeked Bee-eater
(Merops persicus), LC, Kruger National Park — Blue-cheeked Bee-eater (Merops persicus), LC, Kruger National Park

Spotted Hyena cub (Crocuta crocuta), LC, Kruger National Park

Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus), EN, Kruger National Park

Southern Rock Agama (Agama atra), LC, Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve

Bibliography:

[1] Manser MB, & Bell MB (2004). Spatial representation of shelter locations in meerkats, Suricata suricatta. Animal Behaviour. 68(1). p.151–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2003.10.017

[2] Doolan S & Macdonald D (1999) Co‐operative Rearing by Slender‐tailed Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) in the Southern Kalahari. Environmental Science, Biology. DOI:10.1046/J.1439-0310.1999.00461.X

[3] Grifﬁn AS, Pemberton JM, Brotherton PNM, McIlrath G, Gaynor D, Kansky R, O’Riain J,& Clutton-Brock TH (2003) A genetic analysis of breeding success in thecooperative meerkat (Suricata suricatta). Behavioral Ecology. Vol. 14 (4). p. 472–480.

[4] Madden JR, Drewe JA, Pearce GP & Clutton-Brock TH (2009) The social network structure of a wild meerkat population: 2. Intragroup interactions. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. Vol. 64. p.81–95. DOI 10.1007/s00265-009-0820-8.

[5] Dyble M, Houslay TM, Manser MB, & Clutton-Brock TH (2019) Intergroup aggression in meerkats. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Vol. 286(1917): 20191993. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1993.

[6] Flower T (2010) Fork-tailed drongos use deceptive mimicked alarm calls to steal food. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Vol. 278(1711). p.1548–1555. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.1932.

All image captions printed in the following format: Species’ Common Name (where applicable), (Scientific name), IUCN Red List Status, Location, Country