According to research by Dr. Jose Maria Gomez from the University of Granada, Spain, the meerkat are the champions of cruelty in the animal world.
Meerkat weasel scientific name is Suricata suricatta, also known as striped civet, ground weasel, African ground weasel. The Meerkat is a small-bodied mammal that is a member of the mongoose family and the sole species of the genus Suricata.
Meerkats live mainly in the Kalahari desert, Botswana and South Africa. In addition, some major zoos and sanctuaries in the world now also breed this species.
Meerkat weasel is the most common killer in the animal world.
They have a body weight of 0.5 - 2.5kg. Body length from 35 - 50cm. In general, they have a rather slender body. The average length of the tail is up to 25cm, which helps the Meerkat to keep its balance when standing on its hind legs. When standing, Meerkat weasel can easily observe around in hunting as well as warn fellows.
This is a species that lives in groups, each group has from 20 to 30 individuals, in particular, there are groups of up to 50 individuals. Meerkat ferrets have an average lifespan of 12-14 years.
The long tail helps the Meerkat weasel to stand on its hind legs.
Meerkats eat mainly insects, but they sometimes also eat lizards, snakes, scorpions, spiders, eggs, small mammals, centipedes, millipedes and, more rarely, birds. small and mushrooms. Meerkat is immune to several types of venom, including the powerful venom of the Kalahari Desert scorpion. When there is a lack of food, the Meerkat will hunt snakes and scorpions for food.
Meerkat ferrets divide the work quite clearly when looking for food. One will be on guard duty, while the other members directly hunt. If the "guards" stand silently, it means that the area is safe, and when they see an enemy appear, they will scream loudly to signal. This mission will last for 1 hour.
Guards" Meerkat was concentrating on keeping watch for his fellow humans to find food.
Life in the desert is always full of dangers. Therefore, the Meerkat weasel has a very high sense of precaution. When they sleep, they will lie on top of each other, one ear is always raised to listen to all the movements around.
The gestation period of the Meerkat mink is about 11 weeks, the young after birth will stay with the mother in the underground burrow. Meerkat babies will be breastfed until about 60 days of age, then wean. Baby ferrets will open their eyes between 10 and 14 days old.
The young are allowed to leave the burrow at 3 weeks of age or more and will then begin to learn to feed from the older ones in the flock. Weasel parents often kill cubs not born to them to ensure the best chance of survival for their offspring. If the leader pair is blood, they will not mate, the task of reproduction in the herd will be between the females and the males of the other herd. Therefore, pregnant cubs tend to eat the young of other mothers in the herd.
This highly venomous scorpion is also a favorite of the Meerkat weasel.
In swarm order, strong Meerkats sometimes kill young party members. Weaker Meerkats kill the children of high-ranking members to improve the position of their own in the pack.
In Gomez's ranking, in the top 50, there are also species such as squirrels, wild horses, antelopes, deer, chimpanzees, ... These animals kill each other more than bears and tigers.
In terms of cruelty to fellow ring-tailed lemurs, only Meerkat weasel is defeated.
Immediately after the Meerkat is the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur). This animal is endemic to the island nation of Madagascar. Lemur usually live in riverside forests or in the scrub forests of the southern part of the island. In the wild they live for 16-19 years, and in captivity they can live up to 27 years. This species is listed as endangered on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Primates are equally ruthless when ranked 3rd on the list.
Immediately following Lemur on this list are primates such as monkeys, orangutans or chimpanzees.
To get this result, Jose and his colleagues collected all information about the causes of death of about 1000 different species, focusing mainly on the issue of violence against fellow humans. It is surprising that weasels and civets are the most brutal, not other carnivores or primates.
In this list, chimpanzees (a type of primate) are also present, however, humans are not considered to be among the most violent species because human social organization is quite different. Modern civilization has reduced the "bloodlust" from the time of hunter-gatherers.
