|
|
Meercat
 |
|
| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
On a day out with my grandchildren, I decided to try out my new camera and lens, giving me a chance to acquaint myself with its controls and settings. Image has just been cropped and resized for Trek Nature.
Meerkat Vital Statistics
Vision: Color. The dark eye markings act like built-in sunglasses.
Feet: Non-retractable claws. Four toes.
Ears: Closeable.
Height: 12 inches (30 centimeters).
Weight: 2 pounds (0.9 kilograms).
Light-absorbency: Called the "Solar Panel Of The Animal World," meerkats use their dark-skinned, sparsely furred bellies to warm up.
Taxonomy: Members of the mongoose family.
Tail: 8 inches (20 centimeters) long and used as a tripod to balance the animal in an upright position.
Activity: Diurnal (active during the day).
Life span: 12 to 14 years.
Society: A group of meerkats, usually five to thirty members, is called a "mob" or a "gang."
Meerkat Home
Home range: Southern Africa/Kalahari Desert
Dwelling: Grass-lined burrows that are shared with ground squirrels and yellow mongooses.
Toilet: Common latrine used by all members.
Transience: Mob moves several times annually if food supply is depleted.
Competitiveness: Meerkats are very territorial and will fiercely defend their home from other meerkat gangs.
Meerkat Predators
Guardianship: Meerkats are "snack size" for a number of animals, so one always stands guard while the others forage or nap.
Primary predators: Martial eagles and jackals.
911: Various alarm calls indicate different predators.
Meerkat Romance
Specialization: Alpha male and female do most of the breeding.
Litter size: 2 to 5.
Gestation: Eleven weeks.
Breeding season: October-April in the wild. Year-round in captivity.
Helplessness: Born with eyes and ears closed. Sparsely furred.
Helpfulness: Various adults will baby-sit the youngsters while the mother feeds.
Precociousness: Sexually mature at one year.
Meerkat Food
Diet: Scorpions (meerkats are immune to their venom), beetles, spiders, centipedes, millipedes, worms, crickets (FAST food), small mammals, small reptiles, birds, eggs, tubers and roots.
Details from fellowearthlings.org |
Only registered TrekNature members may rate photo notes. |
|
|
| Discussions |
| None | | You must be logged in to start a discussion. |
|
hi William,
lovely portrait of this animal. as is known, the most important part in a portrait is the eyes of the subject. look at those eyes... so penetrating and yet a mystery!
the thinker!
good job. :)
thanks for this post.
Ruby
- siggi
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3097 W: 109 N: 12399]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(52850) - [2012-04-19 13:11]
-
Hello William.
Lovely shot of this meerkat.Great details and lovely natural colours. Very nice composition.Best regards Siggi
-
- Argus
(50626)
- [2012-04-20 7:52]
-
Hello Bill,
You should be pleased with your 7D, as I am with mine and you have used your lens well to achieve a nice portrait of this Meercat, showing the head from a nice POV with excellent sharpness and natural colours in fine lighting.
Thanks and enjoy your weekend,
Ivan
Hi William,
A lovely portrait of this sweet looking animal. I love the catch light in the eyes and the softness of the BG. I feel that a slightly smaller aperture was needed. The nose is now slightly OOF.
TFS,
Niek
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 126 W: 16 N: 395]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif){kind=small}
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 84 W: 1 N: 417]](https://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif)
(2627)