Meerkats are highly social, active small mammals whose complex group dynamics present specific challenges in zoo settings. Proper management supports their welfare and visitor engagement.
Meerkats are genuinely suitable zoo animals if their social and space needs are adequately met — their natural curiosity and group foraging behaviour can be well-expressed in well-designed exhibits. The welfare challenges arise primarily from inadequate space and group size mismanagement. Dominant individuals exclude subordinates from food and rest areas in confined spaces, causing chronic stress for lower-ranking animals. Breeding management in captivity must account for the cooperative breeding system, where only the dominant female typically breeds and others act as helpers. Exhibits that provide extensive sandy substrate for digging, scattered food for foraging, sentinel posts at varying heights, and enough space for social refuge are achievable and produce measurably better welfare outcomes.