Meerkats are highly social, cooperative breeders whose zoo welfare depends on appropriate group dynamics, environmental complexity reflecting their arid habitat, and opportunities for sentinel and foraging behaviors.
Meerkat welfare in zoo settings can be well-managed due to the species natural tolerance for visibility and human presence — their sentinel behavior means they are accustomed to scanning open environments for threats, which generalizes well to observation by zoo visitors. Group housing that replicates natural family structure is essential for the cooperative social dynamics central to meerkat behavioral identity. Digging substrate enables burrowing behavior that is both a natural behavior need and a thermoregulatory resource. Foraging enrichment that hides food in substrate or provides puzzle feeders engages the foraging drives that occupy significant wild meerkat time. Modern zoo meerkat exhibits with appropriate social groups, digging substrate, and foraging enrichment achieve good behavioral welfare indicators for this species.