Learning the ropes: meerkat pups get a lesson on how to survive in the wild.

It turns out that humans aren't the only ones who go to school. Scientists from the University of Cambridge in England recently discovered that meerkat pups attend classes too. But rather than learning subjects like math and history, these burrowing animals get lessons on how to catch a meal. This is the first solid evidence that mammals other than humans actively teach their young (see Nuts & Bolts, p. 9).

STUDY SESSION

Scientists have known that meerkats are social, living in groups of up to 40. But do they teach one another the ways of the world? To find out how these animals learn, Alex Thornton, a zoologist involved in the recent findings, set up camp in the Kalahari Desert (see map, above). This dry region in southern Africa is prune habitat for Suricata suricatta. Once the meerkats--members of the mongoose family--got used to having Thornton and his team around, "we could get right up close to them," he says.

With such proxintity, Thornton watched the meerkats' daily activities. For instance, he observed "helpers" aiding parents to rear their young.

Thornton watched as full-grown meerkats used their long, rakelike claws to bore through the desert sands to find tasty, nutritious treats like millipedes and scorpions. The scorpions have poisonous stingers, malting them dangerous and difficult prey to catch. They're especially tough for a one-month-old meerkat pup to nab. Thornton found that that's where the older meerkat helpers come in.

SCHOOL TIME

When meerkat pups are about four weeks old, they begin to follow the adults on foraging trips. But they don't just watch the adults at work and then copy their moves. To teach the pups food-catching skills, "helpers gradually introduce the pups to live prey," says Thornton. All of the adults in the group, including older siblings, pitch in to feed and teach the pups.

Just like playing the piano or kicking a soccer ball, practice makes perfect. Meerkat pups start with the basics: dead scorpions, which--unlike live ones--pose no threat. Adult meerkats catch and kill the scorpions and then feed the arachnid to the youngest pups.

As the pups get older, their lessons become more difficult. The helpers bring them live scorpions with the stinger bitten off. That way the pups can practice catching the arachnid without the danger of being stung. At first, lunch might escape the pup's tiny claws, but the helpers bring the scorpion right back. Eventually the pups learn to conquer the scorpion, stinger and all. "Because of these opportunities to practice, the pups actually improve," says Thornton.

The pups have to learn quickly. By the time they are three or four months old, they have to feed themselves. And when they are adults, they will pass on what they've learned to the next litter of pups.

web extra

Learn more about meerkats at www.sfzoo.org/cgi-bin/animals.py?ID=70

bolts & bolds

Learning is the process that leads an animal to change its behavior based on practice or experience. Scientists have long known that baby animals, such as young chimpanzees, learn from adults by watching them and then copying their behavior. Meerkats take this one step farther--with the adults actively teaching pups. Their lessons vary with the pup's age. Despite years of searching the animal kingdom, until now only one other species besides humans had been found to teach. The animal? A type of ant.

LESSON PLANS

LIFE: Animal Adaptations

Learning the Ropes

PRE-READING PROMPTS

Jump-start your lesson with these pre-reading questions:

* Think about all of the things that your parents and older siblings helped you learn when you were little. For example: reading, tying your shoes, riding a bike, or using a fork. What did it take to lead you to perform these tasks on your own? What kinds of things would be important for an adult meerkat to teach its pups?

* Observing wild animals up close is usually a difficult or dangerous activity. Meerkats live in groups called mobs. What might scientists do to blend in with the mobs, allowing scientists to observe the behavior of these wild meerkats in close proximity?

* Meerkats are primarily insectivores, but they are also known to eat birds and small mammals. One of the meerkat's favorite meals is a juicy scorpion. The insect has a poisonous stinger, but meerkats are immune to scorpion venom. How might a meerkat pup learn to catch a tasty scorpion?

CRITICAL THINKING

* How might a mob with lots of "helper" meerkats be different from one with not as many helpers? Hint: Consider the helper's role and the pups in each mob. For more information, read: www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articlelD=0002A4C2-96BF-1C61-B882809EC588ED9F

CROSS-CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

ART: Divide students into small groups. Have each group pretend that it is a curatorial team from a famous zoo, and the team's newest project is to set up a special exhibit on meerkats. Each group should do research to come up with an appropriate design for the meerkat's exhibition habitat. Each team must also create an exhibition display board that teaches zoo visitors about meerkats.

RESOURCES

* For more information, including photos, on the University of Cambridge study on meerkats, read "Meerkats Stand Tall," by Tim Clutton-Brock, National Geographic, September 2002. Article also available online at: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0209/feature3/index.html

* Meet a meerkat and learn more about its physical features at this Web site: http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/wildkingdom/meerkats/interactive /interactive.html

* Learn about a center that cares for old, orphaned, or sick meerkats. Visit: www.meerkats.com/

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

DIRECTIONS: Circle the correct responses in the parentheses to complete the following sentences.

1. The meerkat's habitat range is located in (northern Africa, southern Africa, South America, southern Asia).

2. Meerkats, members of the (raccoon, mongoose, rodent, feline) family, live in groups of up to (25, 30, 40, 50).

3. When meerkat pups are about (one week, two weeks, four weeks, two months) old, they begin to follow the adults on foraging trips. By about (two weeks, four weeks, four months, one year) old, the pups feed themselves

4. (Learning, following, watching, adjusting) is the process that leads an animal to change its behavior based on practice or experience.

5. Besides humans and meerkats, this is the only animal species known to teach its young: (a type of ant, chimpanzees, orangutans, seahorses).

ANSWERS

Learning the Ropes

1. southern Africa

2. mongoose, 40

3. four weeks; four months

4. learning

5. a type of ant