NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 
has strayed, all that is needed is to seek out the 
exposed places where the sun is beaming down upon 
the ground, and on one or other of them you will 
find the little fellow basking as usual. When the 
sun sets it races off, seeks out the kitchen stove, 
sits up before it, and, spreading out its limbs, 
toasts itself. 
The antics and comical ways of captive meerkats 
provide an everlasting source of amusement and 
conversation for the members of the household. 
The little fellow is always cheerful, brisk, affec- 
tionate, and good-tempered. It is never advisable, 
however, to give tame meerkats their liberty, 
unless they are kept under supervision or in a 
closed yard, for they are apt to stray away and get 
lost. In captivity the meerkat will eat anything 
of an edible nature. Any of the kinds of food 
partaken of by its owners it will eat. It loves to 
dig out worms and the larve of beetles, moths, 
&c., for itself. Its sense of smell is so acute that 
it can instantly detect the presence of any living 
creature, or a bulb underground. 
When annoyed the meerkat barks sharply and 
shrilly, very much like a young terrier dog. In 
the wild state the alarm is given by a series of 
sharp barks, whereupon all within hearing scuttle 
off to their burrows and take refuge therein. 
Presently little noses may be seen popping up, 
then a head, and the meerkat looks rapidly around. 
If the cause for alarm has vanished, they are out 
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