Meerkats are highly social mongoose relatives that thrive in cohesive family groups, making social management the foundation of good zoo welfare for this charismatic species.
Meerkat welfare in zoos depends critically on maintaining functional family group dynamics. These are animals whose psychological wellbeing is entirely intertwined with their social relationships. Isolation or incompatible group compositions cause chronic stress. The natural dominance hierarchy includes periods of intense aggression from the dominant female toward subordinates, and captive groups need sufficient space for subordinate animals to avoid and retreat from dominant individuals. High visitor engagement is a positive outcome of appropriate housing but must not come at the expense of the animals access to quiet refuges. Enrichment programs that stimulate foraging behavior maintain high behavioral diversity and reduce the risk of stereotypy development. Sentinel behavior emergence indicates healthy group social function.