Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: very social

One of the little Meerkats photographed at the Calgary Zoo on 30 September 2011. I'm taking so few new photos at the moment, so I'm having to dig deep into my archives. "The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. 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. Meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat

When I visited the Calgary Zoo on 28 September 2014, I called in to see the Meerkats. As well as this one, which was standing on guard to protect all the rest, there were several young Meerkats playing in their small enclosure, They were almost constantly on the move, providing entertainment for their human audience. "The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. 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. Meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat

When I visited the Calgary Zoo on 28 September 2014, I called in to see the Meerkats. As well as this one, which was standing on guard to protect all the rest, there were several young Meerkats playing in their small enclosure, They were almost constantly on the move, providing entertainment for their human audience. "The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. 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. Meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat

When I visited the Calgary Zoo on 28 September 2014, there were several of these young Meerkats playing in their small enclosure, They were constantly on the move, though these three did stop very briefly on top of a tree stump. "The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. 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. Meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat Remember to celebrate EARTH HOUR this evening between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm. "Earth Hour is a worldwide grassroots movement uniting people to protect the planet, and is organised by WWF. Engaging a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues, Earth Hour was famously started as a lights-off event in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then it has grown to engage more than 7000 cities and towns worldwide, and the one-hour event continues to remain the key driver of the now larger movement. The event is held worldwide towards the end of March annually, encouraging individuals, communities households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol for their commitment to the planet."

Meerkats are such fun animals to watch, giving such wonderful poses, especially when a group of them are standing on their hind legs, stretching as tall as they can. At the Calgary Zoo, a number of them are youngsters and they are so cute. There was a very long, empty, cardboard (?) tube in their enclosure and one little one was determined to try and squeeze into it. I really thought it was going to get stuck inside, but each time it managed to back out of it, thank goodness. Probably not easy to get a firm footing on a slippery cardboard surface, compared to a dirt burrow. "The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. 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. Meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat

Posting late again today, around noon. Yesterday, 6 October 2014, I managed to get over to the Calgary Zoo again. About a week ago, I had finally visited what used to almost be my 'second home', after not going since before June 2013, when Alberta suffered the devastating effects caused by our Flood of the Century. The Zoo had been under several feet of water, and I couldn't help but try to imagine what it must have looked like. The Zoo folks did such an absolutely incredible job of rescuing and moving so many creatures, large and small - just impossible to even imagine. It felt so good last week and yesterday to be able to wander round and enjoy the animals once again. Interesting how different two visits can be - for example, last week, I had a good view of the new trio of young male Mandrills (monkeys), but yesterday, they were outside in the old African Wild Dog enclosure where it is impossible to see and photograph them. Last week, there was no sign of the amazing "white" black bear, but yesterday I was lucky. You just never know what will be out and what will be hidden. The Meerkats were in their usual place - a number of them are youngsters and they are so funny to watch. There was a very long, empty, cardboard (?) tube in their enclosure and one little one was determined to try and squeeze into it. I really thought it was going to get stuck inside, but each time it managed to back out of it, thank goodness. "The meerkat or suricate, Suricata suricatta, is a small mammal belonging to the mongoose family. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. 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. Meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat Uh, oh, I've just discovered that there is now a Beta version of the Groups page. Hope it is an improvement for those who use Groups a lot.

This funny little Meercat was leaning back against the lichen-covered rocks, watching all the zoo visitors pass by : ) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meerkat