Most people know meerkats from the character Timon in The Lion King animated movie. However, instead of spending all their time with a warthog, most meerkats live in underground burrows in large groups of up to 40 individuals called a gang or a mob. For meerkats, there isn’t just safety in numbers—there’s also companionship. The mob is made up of several family groups, with one dominant pair that produces most of the offspring, but they don’t have to be related to belong to the same group. Meerkat mobs spend a lot of their time grooming and playing together to keep the family as a tight unit. This community existence helps the meerkats survive.
meerkats have developed a way to forage in relative safety: adults take turns acting as guard while the others can look for food without worries. The guard climbs to the highest rock, termite mound, or bush he or she can find, stands upright on two legs, and then announces the beginning of guard duty with a specialized call. A low, constant peeping, known as the watchman's song, is made when all is well.