Meerkats are highly cooperative social mammals whose welfare is bound up in group cohesion, sentinel duties, and the complex social structures of Kalahari desert life.
Meerkat welfare involves both positive social experiences — the rich cooperative life of group members who play, groom, and care for young together — and welfare costs from social suppression. Subordinate females are hormonally suppressed from reproducing by dominant females, and may be evicted when pregnant, facing solitary survival challenges. The sentinel system means some individuals bear the cost of increased predator vigilance for group benefit. Research on meerkat welfare has contributed significantly to understanding of both positive and negative welfare states in wild social animals.