Meerkats

Guards at Buckingham Palace are known for doing their job well. They stand completely still and refuse to get distracted! It’s their job to protect the Queen! Well, if you’ve ever seen a meerkat, you may have been reminded of the Queen’s guard because meerkats are known for standing up tall and always being on guard!

Meerkats are very social animals. In fact, you can usually find them living in large groups of 20-50. This “family” of meerkats is called a mob or a gang.

The most important job in the meerkat family is that of lookout, or sentry. They must keep watch for predators like hawks, eagles, and snakes. The lookout keeps the entire mob safe, so it’s a good thing that meerkats have incredible eyesight! In fact, God gave meerkats something special to help them see so well. Have you ever noticed the black circles around their eyes? Meerkats live in the desert where the sun shines bright almost every day, and those black circles reduce the glare that the sun causes.

Another thing that meerkats do very well is dig! Digging is a very important skill for a meerkat because that’s how they find their food. They have to go underground to find insects, lizards, eggs, and even scorpions! And they dig so fast that you would think they would get sand in their eyes, but again, God knew what the meerkats needed, so He gave their eyes a protective membrane! After a long, hard day of keeping watch and digging, the meerkat mob will return to their burrow for a good night’s rest! Isn’t it wonderful how God created every creature with just what it needs to survive?

Meerkats are great examples at how we should be as Christians. We have an enemy who is constantly seeking out ways to distract us, to throw us off our guard so that we take our eyes off of Jesus and go down the wrong path. Like meerkats, we need to stay alert and watch out for the enemy. And when we see him lurking, we should sound the alarm! Pray and ask Jesus to cast Satan away from you and the people that are close to you so that he can’t hurt you or those that you love.

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”

–1 Corinthains 13:16 (NIV)
Most of the meerkat mob is made up of relatives. Can you imagine trying to get everyone together for a family photo?
Want to learn more fun facts about meerkats?

shutterstock/Lumena
A meerkat’s black mask helps keep the sun out of their eyes.

ANSWER: Paper clip in cloud; comb, candle, and bread under two meerkats; button is the nose; sock and rabbit head in the rock; ice cream cone in the front grass; snake near the front grass; pizza, paintbrush, coin, and tack near the grass and rocks in picture’s center; hook and letter “M” in the meerkat fur.

Watch this God’s Amazing Animal video about Meerkats! Don’t forget we have other God’s Amazing Animals videos Here