Native to southern Africa, the meerkat thrives in the savannahs and open plains of regions like Botswana, Namibia, Angola, and South Africa.

Meerkats are highly social, living in groups known as mobs, gangs, or clans. They spend a lot of time foraging for food, which includes insects, roots, eggs, small reptiles, and scorpions. Remarkably, meerkats are immune to scorpion venom. While foraging, one or more individuals keep watch for predators, such as eagles, foxes, or jackals. If danger is detected, a sentinel gives an alarm call, prompting the group to seek safety underground.
Meerkat pups are born hairless, blind, and deaf. They begin to open their eyes after about two weeks and start consuming solid food a week later. Females are usually larger than males and can give birth to up to four litters of five pups each year, typically during the rainy season when food availability is high.

Listed as Least Concern, meerkats are generally stable in the wild. However, local populations can be affected by disturbances and habitat loss due to human activities.

The meerkat's belly fur is thin, which helps it regulate its body temperature. It can warm itself by lying on sun-warmed ground or cool off by resting belly-down in a cool, dark burrow.

Fota Wildlife Park welcomed its meerkat clan in 2010, and the exhibit has since been enhanced with a new viewing house, allowing visitors a closer look at these active creatures. The original group, consisting of Tippy and her three daughters, came from Belfast Zoo. Since their arrival, the meerkat numbers at Fota have increased substantially in recent years.