Meerkat Traditional Cache

Who would have thought that one can in this day and age, go on a game drive on a public road in the close vicinity of Nelspruit and see everything from a slithering snake to a buffalo and even an elephant and some great views.  Best of all is, you don’t even have to pay to do so This can be done by driving the “Uitkyk” road.  It is advisable to start at the entrance on the N4 and work your way back towards Nelspruit

Meerkat

This is the seventh cache in the “Uitkyk Game Drive Series. Please leave your car only when searching for the cache and constantly be on the lookout as there are dangerous animals in the area. Meerkat is not very common to the area but has been relocated to the area to control the snake population in the area. Enjoy your game drive and this unique caching experience where wildlife roam.

The meerkat or suricate (Suricata suricatta) is a small carnivoran belonging to the mongoose family (Herpestidae). It is the only member of the genus Suricata. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about half this in the wild

The biggest threats to a meerkat clan is snakes and raptors but they are ever observant for these threats. If confronted by a snake, the clan will mob up against the snake and as they are very quick and vicious fighters, they will overpower the snake and kill it. As they are carnivoris, they will also eat the snake.

Q: Did you hear about the kitten who lived with a meerkat clan?

A: They didn't realize she was a mere cat.