DIET AND FORAGING BEHAVIOR OF GROUP-LIVING MEERKATS, SURICATA-SURICATTA, IN THE SOUTHERN KALAHARI

Slender-tailed meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are small, diurnal, and g regarious mongooses which inhabit the semi-arid regions of southern Af rica. In the south-western Kalahari, substantial fluctuations in produ ctivity are caused by extreme seasonality in rainfall and temperatures . We observed the foraging behaviour of habituated meerkats from Janua ry to July, a period covering the entire birth season and stages of hi gh and low prey availability. Insects were the most Frequently occurri ng prey class (78.1%), of which larvae (33.4% total frequency) and adu lt Coleoptera (27.5% total frequency) were the most important prey ite ms throughout the year. Reptiles were heavily utilized in terms of pre y bulk-an index of volume-(19.9%), but not by frequency (9.2%). Consum ption of Coleoptera was positively correlated with rainfall, and negat ively with temperature. Meerkats used a mean of 6.7+/-1.1 prey categor ies daily, and there were significant monthly differences in prey dive rsity in the diet. Dietary shifts were apparently related to fluctuati ons in prey availability and the presence of preferred prey. There wer e no differences between the sexes in dietary diversity or niche bread th, but pregnant and lactating females foraged at significantly higher rates than males. The timing of foraging activity altered over the mo nths in response to changes in daylength and thermoregulatory constrai nts. Foraging behaviour and seasonality in foraging effort are describ ed, and the implications of an insect prey base for meerkat socioecolo gy are discussed.