Page 60 - World of Animals - Issue #41

Explore the Earth

Mingle with a meerkat mob

The meerkat is a member of the mongoose family and lives in the Kalahari
Desert in very complex social groups consisting of 20-50 members called a
mob, gang or clan. Meerkats have long, slender bodies and use their tails for
signalling and balancing when standing upright. They eat mostly insects,
but also scoff lizards, snakes, spiders and scorpions, and are immune to
certain venoms. Meerkats have binocular vision and while foraging for food,
one member of the group will stand guard. If they spot danger, they will
bark or whistle to warn others before hiding in their burrows.
For a chance to spot these charismatic creatures in the wild, take a trip
to the Kalahari Meerkat Project in the Northern Cape, where 18 groups of
wild meerkats are anything but shy. They have been studied here since
1993 and even starred in the BBC’s Life Of Mammals documentary. Dress
appropriately for the time of year though, as temperatures are scorching in
the summer and freezing during winter.

Swim with

African penguins

When you think of Africa, penguins don’t initially
come to mind, but this rugged coastline offers
some spectacular penguin spotting locations. The
African penguin is the only penguin species that
breeds in South Africa. Also known as the jackass

penguin for its donkey-like bray, these flippered

birds are flightless and streamlined for darting and
diving through the water. They have developed a
special adaptation to cope with the heat, as they
use the pink glands above their eyes to help cool
down their blood.
Boulders Beach on the Cape Peninsula offers
an experience like no other, where visitors can
walk, and even swim, with these charismatic and
inquisitive birds. From here, you can also get a
close-up view of the penguin colony on Foxy
Beach, just over the sand dunes, where you can
see hundreds of penguins waddling about their
daily business.

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