Category: General

Whiskers Sheila (VWF267) in back) and Bruce (VWF266) in 2023

Whiskers Soli (VWF281) in March 2025

Dramatic events continue to unfold with Whiskers. With former dominant female Archangel’s (VWF259) absence from the group on May 25th, dominance fell back on Gnoll (VWF262) – the only eligible female remaining in Whiskers.  But just four days later, natal females Kylie (VWF265), (pregnant) Bruce (VWF266) and Sheila (VWF267) returned to Whiskers and Gnoll left the group. The three females are vying for dominance but none have been confirmed. Juvenile female Soli (VWF281) did not wake up with the group on June 27 and has not returned by the end of the month.

Whiskers Archangel (VWF259)

Archangel was given her LAST SEEN.

Whiskers had an intergroup interaction with Mandalore.

Breeding season in the Kalahari  has extended into winter with eight pregnancies observed. Alba dominant female Cleopatra (VALF008) and Side Quest dominant female Pumba  (VZUF048) gave birth with pups still to emerge. Zulus dominant female Leona (VZUF070) gave birth with four pups emerging, and two pups from Jaxx dominant female Jub Jub’s (VZXF160) litter emerged. Two pups also emerged from Elrond’s Council dominant female Snoop Kat’s (VECF039) litter. Dik-Diks dominant female Juliet (VDDF009) aborted her litter.

Trackie-Daks Boubou (VTDF028)

Trackie-Daks dominant female Boubou (VTDF028) was found dead this month. Only her skull and radio-collar were found near the entrance of a bolt-hole. Female dominance at Trackie-Daks is now unknown.

Vetkoeks dominant male Mion (VZUM057), and sub-adult male Ody (VVKM021) were given their LAST SEEN.  Male dominance at Vetkoeks is undecided.

Vetkoeks had an intergroup interaction with Mandalore.

Brussels Sprouts Gurke (VHMM036)

Brussels Sprouts subordinate adult male Gurke woke up with Zulus on the 29th. He stayed with the group for a couple of hours the next morning before leaving.

Some individuals at Dik-Diks are sporting injuries from unknown causes. Dominant male Rufaro (VUBM046) has a scab and lumps on his cheeks; Subordinate yearling male Scramble (VDDM007) has bumps on both sides of his muzzle, and subordinate adult female Tuna Fish II (VGDF026) has scabs under her left shoulder and left thigh. Injuries have also been seen at Elrond’s Council. Adult male Jatu (VECM071) and dominant female Snoop Kat  have open wounds on their chests; dominant male Jonsnow (VECM070) has an open wound on his inner thigh and yearling female Cadenza (VECF059) has a wound on her muzzle.

Elrond’s Council Cadenza (VECF059) submitting to Snoop Kat (VECF039)

Lastly, no adult females were seen with Renegades by the end of the month. Dominant female Maya II (VGDF039) was not seen with the group on the 12th. She was showing signs of TB and is presumed dead. Renegades is likely to be officially disbanded in the upcoming weeks.

Find the June 2025 Meerkatter here.

Click here for the 2025 Life History Chart.

The June 2025 Group Territory Map can be found here.

Brussels Sprouts dominant male James (Sawyer) VGDM011

Renegades Maya II and Johto

The curse of the tainted territory on the east side of the KRR, near Gannavlakte, continues. Renegades now appear to be headed toward the same fate as two previous groups that had occupied the same territory, Make-e-Plan and Nightwatch. Both these groups were disbanded due to tuberculosis (TB). In February 2025, the submandibular lumps seen on Renegades former dominant female Ricky Baker (VGDF031) and adult subordinate female Maya II (VGDF039) were determined not to be tuberculosis. But in March, Ricky Baker and her pup Milo (VRGP005) disappeared, likely relative to TB – either due to direct health deterioration or increased vulnerability to predation. TB and the disbandment of groups is presented in detail in the May 2025 Meerkatter.

May was a fruitful month for several meerkat groups. Brussels Sprouts increased to 10 members with the birth of 4 pups. Gold Diggers increased their numbers to 20 with the birth of 5 pups, and Lazuli stands at 14 members with the emergence                                                                  of 5 pups.

Gold Diggers March 2025

Gold Diggers Serafina Pekkala (VGDF049)

Gold Diggers adult subordinate female Serafina Pekkala (VGDF049) was evicted by dominant female Goldeneye (VGDF007) at the beginning of the month.  She was allowed back into the group, shortly before Goldeneye’s pups emerged, gave birth herself, but lost the litter.

Vetkoeks dominant male Mion (VZUM057) did not wake up with the group on May 9th and has not returned by the end of the month. Pup Pona (VVKP030) and sub-adult male Ody (VVKM021) are also missing at the end of the month.

Two pups, VDDP021 and VDDP023, from Dik-Diks’ mixed litter of 12 (that emerged last month) were given their LAST SEEN.

Whiskers Kylie (VWF265)

Whiskers Archangel (VWF259)

Female dominance is once again unsettled at Whiskers. Whiskers dominant female Archangel (VWF259) disappeared on May 25th. Subordinate adult female Gnoll (VWF262) did not wake up with the group this same day. On the 29th, adult females Kylie, Bruce and Sheila immigrated back into the group and began competing for dominance.  They had left Whiskers in January after Archangel assumed dominance.

Find the May 2025 Meerkatter here.

Click here for the May 2025 Life History Chart.

The May 2025 Group Territories Map is found here.

Elrond’s Council Dominant Female Snoop Kat (VECF039)

Dik-Diks Dominant Female Juliet (VGDF009)

This month’s Meerkatter follows up on the outcomes of the differing strategies of the dominant females at Elrond’s Council and Dik-Diks in dealing with pregnant subordinates. Elrond’s Council dominant female Snoop Kat’s (VECF039) and Dik-Diks dominant female Juliet’s (VGDF009) strategies were first described in last month’s Meerkatter. Snoop Kat evicted two pregnant subordinates late in gestation. Juliet opted not to evict three pregnant subordinates. There were very different outcomes that impacted the rest of their respective groups.

At the beginning of April, there were 23 pregnancies across the groups! Five pups of Alba dominant female Cleopatra (VALF008) emerged this month, as did five pups of Jaxx dominant female Jub Jub (VJXF160), and four pups of Side Quest dominant female Pumba (VZUF048). One pup at each Vetkoeks, Whiskers, and Zulus were seen. Dominant females at Brussels Sprouts, Lazuli, Trackie-Daks, Gold Diggers and Ubuntu gave birth but their litters are yet to emerge by the end of the month.

Dik-Diks Shelby (VDGDF022)

Dik-Diks subordinate female Shelby (VGDF022), evicted in December 2024, was accepted back into Dik-Diks.  Jaxx former dominant male Sneaky (VJXM170) emigrated out of Jaxx. Male dominance at Jaxx is unconfirmed.  Lazuli subordinate adult male Subigubi (VUBM050) was given his LAST SEEN. Subordinate yearling female Otje (VSIF028) and sub-adult Pudding (VSIF038) are considered emigrated out of Side Quest.

Lazuli Subigubi (VUBM050) in his natal group with pups Flibbertijibbet and Tiddlywink in 2023

Renegades previous dominant female Ricky Baker (VGDF031) and pup Milo (VRGP005) were given their LAST SEEN. Adult female Maya II (VGDF039) gained dominance as the only eligible female in the group. Maya II gave birth this month, but the litter was lost.

Vetkoeks Blackjack (VVKM002)

Vetkoeks subordinate adult male Blackjack (VVKM002) was found deceased on the main road, hit by a car. He had previously lost an eye after being bitten by a snake.

Whiskers juvenile female Sibusisiwe (VWF227) was given her LAST SEEN this month.

Find the April 2025 Meerkatter here.

Click here for the new Life History Chart.

Find here the Key to the new Life History Chart.

The April 2025 Group Territories Map can be found here.

Whiskers Sibusisiwe (VWF277)

Alba Orlov with injured foreleg
Photo by Sofya Melnikova

Late rains in the Kuruman River Reserve have extended the meerkat breeding season. There were 22 pregnancies recorded in March. The more rain, the more resources there are for the meerkats. How the different groups manage so many simultaneous pregnancies varies. This month’s Meerkatter highlights how two groups – Elrond’s Council and Dik-Diks – handled these multiple pregnancies during the month.

Elrond’s Council Dominant Male Jonsnow (VECM070)

A few pups were given their LAST SEEN in March including Alba Orlov (VALM026), Side Quest Boo (VSIM044), and Brussels Sprouts solo pup, Dropke (VBSF015).

Male dominance has been confirmed at Elrond’s Council with Jonsnow (VECM070) taking on the top male position. Male dominance is still unconfirmed at Jaxx. Jaxx former dominant male Sneaky (VJXM170) is considered to have emigrated out of the group.

Trackie-Daks VTD2501/VTD2502 litter pups

Trackie-Daks pups Kibo (VTDF049), Sip (VTDP050), Timone (VTDF051) and Meeko (VTDF052) foraged with the group for the first time this month. Ubuntu’s six pups – Pawpaw (VUBM080), Moppie (VUBF081), Fifi (VUBP082), Stella (VUBF083), Baba (VUBF084), and Koka (VUBM085) – joined their family on their first forage as well.

Zulus Dominant female Spruddel – March 7, 2025

Sadly, beloved, long-time Zulus dominant female Spruddel (VZUF028), was predated on her birthday, March 10th. She was pregnant at the time. That same day, her daughter, Leona aka The Unit (VZUF070), immigrated back into the group after having been evicted and took over as the group’s dominant female.

At Renegades, dominant female Ricky Baker (VGDF031) and pup VRGP005 were not with the group on March 25th and had not returned by the end of the month.

Vetkoeks dominant female Mooncake (VHMF053) is one of the many meerkats that is pregnant this month. Juvenile female Brownie (VVKF020) was given her LAST SEEN. Despite the loss of Brownie, the group is finally increasing their numbers.

Hogwarts juveniles Tolkien (VHWM007), Pushkin (VHWM006), Rowling (VHWM005) and dominant male Caraxes (VHWM004) March 2025

Ubuntu Pawpaw (VUBM080) and Koka (VUBM085)

Hogwarts dominant female Salazar (VZUF051) gave birth this month and five pups have emerged. True to their group name, these little pups were all named after Harry Potter characters.

Finally, at Whiskers, female pups Amarula (VWF280) and Anita (VWF282), subordinate male Gojo Satoru (VWM274) and juvenile female Bubblegum (VWF278) were all given their LAST SEEN. The group now numbers 10 individuals.

Vetkoeks Seabiscuit (VVKM022) and Ody (VVKM021)

Find the March 2025 Meerkatter here.

Click here for the March 2025 Life History Chart.

The March 2025 Group Territories map can be found here.