Insurance?

I think it's quite obvious from the title of this post what it's going to be about. Meerkats. Of course.

I took the picture above at Cotswold Wildlife park. To my surprise the Meerkats there don't rant about insurance comparison websites in odd Russian Accents, which spoiled my day a bit.

The name Meerkat comes from a misidentification, 'Meerkat' is actually Dutch for 'Lake Cat' but Meerkats are not in the feline family nor are they attracted to lakes. So I'm really not sure what's going on there.

Meerkats are highly social creatures as they often live in large colonies called 'Gangs' or 'Mobs', which range in number from around 20 to 30.

They are well known for keeping an eye for each other; one or more Meerkat will act as a sentry looking out for predators, while the others forage or play. If the sentry Meerkat spots danger, they will give a warning bark to let the gang know that danger is present, on hearing this they run into to bolt holes (small burrows dotted around their territory). The sentry Meerkat is the first to appear from the bolt hole, as they must make sure the surrounding area is safe for the everyone else, they constantly bark whilst doing this. Once the sentry Meerkat stops barking the others know it is safe to leave the bolt holes.

A Meerkats a primarily insectivorous but are also known to feed on spiders, scorpions, small lizards and snakes as well as some small mammals.

They are partially immune to some venoms including strong scorpion venoms, which could be fatal to a small child. So you know... don't let your kids eat scorpions.

Pictured Bellow is a grass Hopper,

There are 11 species of grass hoper in England, I'd hazard a guess that this is a 'Grass green Grass Hopper'.

For such small critters they are surprisingly loud, they have a row of pegs (Hind Fermus) which they rub against there fore wing or abdomen to make sounds which they use to let females know they are present.

Some Experts are able to identify different species of grasshopper by the sound they make, which sounds like a good life skill to have.

They feed mainly on grass, though other species feed on leaves and various other plant life too.