If you’re a meerkat, who do you want looking out for you while you forage? The most experienced guard of course. Simples.
Scientists have shown that when rookie meerkats take their turn standing sentinel, everyone is on edge. However, when a more seasoned guard is in place, using its veteran gaze to keep a watch out for marauding hyenas or swooping eagles, its fellow meerkats are better able to relax.
The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, involved looking at how the behaviour of meerkats changed according to which member of the group was on duty.
Meerkats are highly social animals and their groups, which range in size from a handful of members to dozens, co-operate to forage. One will find a piece