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.
Thanks for sharing
Were you able to teach a meerkat to use a DSLR? it would be interesting to see what shots they are able to get 🙂 .
Can’t decide who’s cuter you or the meerkats
This is the cutest thing I have ever seen!!!!! I love the photos you did get of them too they are great!!!!
What a wonderful experience. Thank you so much for letting us share just a bit with you. Had to watch the video several times. Thank you again 🙂
just fantastic, I always thought that they were bigger!
only one word: jealousy …
Wow . it is beautiful
I love meerkats.
Your photos …. wonderful !!!!!
Wonderfull !!! Grat pictures
At 85 my first introduction to meerkats was at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Fasinating little animals. Thanks for your further enlightenment. A real delight.
Great video and awesome pictures, i’m in love!!! Meerkats!!!!♥
Magnifiques photos et surement des moments inoubliables.
Nice video…I love these small creatures. They are so cute and smart…Amazing photos…..
Meerkats are as cute as you 🙂 thank you for sharing!!! 😛
Well don, such a lovely photographer with animals!!!! we have Meerkats in our aria, I think it lives under ground ??
These pictures are stunning! Great job! They are adorable little creatures!
Absolutely adorable! Great job 🙂 Tnx
Being a South African, now living in Auckland, I miss Africa’s wild-life and thoroughly enjoyed your amazing video taken in Botswana. What an experience for you. Will you be visiting the Okavango soon – would love to see your video on lion or elephant?!
Dit was so awesome om die fotos te sien. what a privilege to work in nature like that.