Meerkats are intensely social mongooses living in cooperative breeding groups. Their welfare in captivity depends critically on appropriate social management that respects their complex dominance hierarchies and cooperative behavioral needs.
Meerkat welfare in captivity illustrates the importance of species-specific social management. These animals have evolved in tightly organized cooperative groups where every individual has a role — sentinels, pup-carers, foragers, territorial defenders. In captivity, groups must be large enough to allow these social roles to develop while being carefully managed for incompatible dominance conflicts. Exhibits must provide elevated sentinel posts, varied substrate for foraging, burrow systems for shelter and pup-rearing, and appropriate thermal management given their desert origins. The tourist market for "meerkat experiences" has led to some facilities keeping meerkats in conditions optimized for human interaction rather than meerkat welfare — a trade-off that welfare advocates should challenge.