Meerkats are highly social mammals whose captive welfare depends on appropriate group composition, cooperative foraging opportunities and adequate burrowing substrate.
Meerkat welfare in captivity is heavily dependent on social complexity and appropriate group management. Their cooperative social system requires sufficient group size to allow sentinel rotations and pup-rearing roles. Groups that are too small fail to exhibit natural behaviours, while those with inappropriate hierarchies show chronic stress. Burrowing substrate is essential — meerkats denied this opportunity show persistent stereotypic ground-scratching. Solar basking areas allow natural thermoregulatory behaviour. High-quality meerkat exhibits balance visitor appeal with the animals's genuine behavioural and social needs.