MEERKATS OF THE MAKGADIGADI PANS (Suricate – Suricata suricatta).
Early morning warm-up. It is 5.30am and the sun is edging its way onto the Eastern horizon of the Makgadigadi Pans. We do not have far to drive. Just a couple of kilometres from Jack’s Camp is a group of habituated Meerkats, the reason for the trip to Makgadigadi. Family Bonding time. Extravagantly indulgent, this trip is costing an arm and a leg, but is a 25 th Wedding Anniversary celebration and therefore cost can be (relatively speaking that is) ignored. Slow start on a warm day. Finding a Meerkat in the wilds of Africa, or more specifically, Southern Africa is not an easy task when time is limited and expectations are high. Certainly there are Meerkats spread all over the Western climes of Southern Africa but the crucial factor determining a trip dedicated to them is that they should at least sit still long enough to be photographed and not be hightailing it off in the opposite direction at the approach of a vehicle. The grasslands are waiting. E...