Meerkats are among the most charismatic zoo animals, but their complex eusocial structure and extensive foraging behaviour create welfare challenges that require thoughtful exhibit design and group management.
Meerkat welfare in zoos depends on replicating the core elements of their cooperative social life. Exhibits must accommodate stable family groups with a clear dominant pair, adequate digging substrate for tunnel construction, and sufficient space for the sentinel and foraging behaviours that occupy most of the waking day. Scatter feeding and buried food items are important enrichment strategies. Eviction and social exclusion — which occur naturally — can become welfare problems in captivity when evicted animals cannot disperse and instead face sustained dominant aggression in a closed space. Zoo staff must monitor group dynamics carefully and be prepared to separate evicted individuals humanely. Glass-fronted exhibits with high public throughput can cause chronic low-level stress through habituation failure.