Meerkats have become important study animals for behavioral ecology research, and their welfare in field and captive research contexts requires attention.
Meerkats in behavioral research programs face welfare tradeoffs between scientific knowledge and individual animal stress. Field handling for weighing and sampling causes acute fear responses. Captive individuals in cognitive research require enriched conditions to express natural behaviors being studied. The Kalahari project is notable for minimizing handling by using habituation rather than capture. Captive research should replicate the complex social environment of meerkat mobs to generate valid results and meet welfare needs simultaneously.