THE BUSHY-TAILED OR ROOI MEERKAT 



(Cynictis penicillata typicus) 



The Bushy-tailed Meerkat, which is also known 

 to colonists as the Rooi or Red Meerkat, and to the 

 Amaxosa natives as the Igala, is not the one which 

 makes such a gentle and affectionate pet, and which 

 is known, if not by sight, at least by reputation, 

 to most South African colonists. The Bushy- 

 tailed Meerkat seen in the distance is reddish- 

 yellow in appearance, but on close inspection it 

 proves to be a dull orange-yellow colour. It is an 

 inhabitant of the eastern parts of the Cape Province, 

 extending north through the Orange Free State, 

 the high veld of the Transvaal, Bechuanaland, and 

 the Kalahari, to Lake Ngami. 



On the karoo in the western parts of the Cape 

 Province it is replaced by the well-known Slender- 

 tailed Meerkat, which colonists capture and 

 tame. The latter has, however, extended into the 

 Eastern Province of the Cape, as far south as 

 Uitenhage and Alexandria, where its species is now 

 abundant. 



The Rooi Meerkat lives in colonies of a score and 



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