Earlier this year, I travelled to the Makgadikgadi Pans region of Botswana to photograph some of the most charismatic (and cutest) creatures in Africa – meerkats!
Meerkats are members of the mongoose family and are found in the desert region of Southern Africa. They are social animals, living in large family groups. They sleep in underground networks and during the day they venture out of their dens in search of for food. A meerkat’s diet consists mainly of scorpions, beetles, lizards, eggs and small mammals.
Meerkats forage in groups with at least one sentry on duty at all times. They need to be extremely vigilant while they are out in the open so that they aren’t surprised by predators such as birds of prey or jackals. Meerkats aren’t very tall so they try to seek out the high ground in order to get a better view of their surroundings. The higher the vantage point the better so they will go to impressive lengths to find that perfect lookout post!
These meerkats are completely wild but over time they have become habituated to humans. This means it is possible to gain their trust and get really close to them. When people are around, these clever little creatures take full advantage of the situation and will sometimes climb on top of the nearest person for a better view out over the long grass. Sometimes they just decide that sitting on a warm human is more comfortable that sitting on the coarse sand!
Trying to photograph animals that jumped on me whenever I got too close was certainly a challenge that I wasn’t used to facing… not that I was complaining! For a behind the scenes look at this project including lots of amusing meerkat antics, check out this short 2-minute video.
One of the highlights of my time in Botswana was getting to spend time with some adorable three-week-old baby meerkats. These tiny babies first emerged from the den a day or so into my trip and after that I spent a lot of time with them so they became very comfortable around me. In fact, it wasn’t long before they were treating me like their own personal plaything!
Meerkats are charming little creatures and spending time with them is always a privilege. For more photos check out my meerkat image gallery. You can also get more behind the scenes photos and video by following me on Instagram.
I want to be a photographer . Its my dream . You do such nice job .
Wow!!! It’s beautiful and the animals are wonderful. Love them!!!
Hi how cool just loved the video what a lovely young Man you are and those wee meerkats would sence that I always like to take note of any animals towards different people( my neighbours dog growls at anyone do not trust them) Iff ever you come to NZ would love to meet you keep my email incase cheers keep up the good work.
These are amazing photos!! I love the baby meerkats! So cute!!
Absolutely fabulous !
This video is very nice. Thank you for sharing …
Fabulous photography and adorable subjects! Just so precious and funny!
Its a shame that sometimes the adult meerkats kill the babies of others so that their own babies can flourish.
the photo that you take is so amazing 🙂
Amazing little characters! Your work is inspiring 🙂
Am thrilled to have found you. I am passionate about wildlife. So I have had great pleasure at seeing all your photographs. Very many thanks for sharing all these wonderful photographs
Thank you so much for sharing!! Thank you for your profession. An amazing photographer with a great passion for animals…. I thank you as I am seeing nature through your eyes… xxxooo
What lenses were being used dring this shoot?
great and sweet job…always loved Meercats Love your behind the scenes video. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for sharing these amazing photos that can only warm the heart & feed the soul!
no words to say….these are totally awesome…Fantastic! Great job buddy!!!!!
Stunning creatures! Just to show how everyone has got their place in the world.
Wonderful capture.
Thank you for sharing. I didn’t realize how SMALL they are!! Hard to get a real sense of scale on TV. Sweet!
Hi, I am a mom of a college age daughter and she and I love your Meerkat photos and video! We were big fans of Animal Planet’s Meerkat Mannor. Would it be possible to tag along with you a day on one of your Meerkat shoots? I would love to give her this trip and this one day adventure for her college graduation.
Love meercats, love your blog