Meerkats — The Original Social Network

The sun rises, dispelling the night cold, as a few meerkats start crawling
out of their desert burrow. It is so cold underground that they must spend several
minutes warming their bellies before they start the day’s activities.

A Job for Everyone

Meerkats display a spectacularly complex society, typically seen only in insect
colonies. Their complex behavior could come from only one source. On day six
the Creator gave each kind of land animal unique tools to meet its needs (Genesis 1:24–25). The ancestors of meerkats did not need certain tasks before the Fall,
such as hunting, but already had the basics for dividing tasks and developing
new roles. Today, their social talents have blossomed in southern Africa.

Meerkats as Hunters

Each morning the alpha female heads off first. With several pups to feed, it
is imperative that she never go hungry. The alpha female rules each meerkat
pack, or mob, which numbers from 20 to 50 members. She chooses her mate (the
alpha male), and the two of them produce around 80% of the mob’s pups. All the
other meerkats are subservient to the ruling alphas.

Meerkats as Sentinels

The day’s sentinels head out next, looking for a good spot to watch for danger.
All the other meerkats share the rest of the clan’s jobs. Each meerkat eventually
spends time in each position, though they don’t seem to follow a schedule. The
group always has at least one sentinel on duty to watch over the burrow system
and the pups. Usually, a second sentinel keeps an eye on the rest of the gang
when they go out looking for food. The sentry occasionally makes a pepping sound,
meaning all’s well. But when a jackal or an eagle shows up, the bark changes
immediately.

An amazing aspect of the meerkat calls is the range of meanings they convey.
The warning for a terrestrial predator differs from the sound for an airborne
one. The call can even indicate how deadly the threat is, ranging from “be careful”
to “duck and cover!”

Meerkats as Babysitters

As the mob thins out, a few adults remain near the burrow with the pups. The
pups are too young to forage and cannot be left alone. The babysitters not only
keep the pups from wandering off but also protect the alphas’ children with
their own lives. When a warning sounds, the babysitter will rush the pups back
underground, ready to attack any threat foolish enough to follow. If they can’t
reach the burrow in time, the babysitter will gather the pups and lie on top
of them, shielding them.

Meerkats as Mentors

Finally, adults start trickling back from the hunt. A few carry injured prey
in their mouths as teaching tools. These meerkats are known as mentors. Each
mentor will teach a pup the dos and don’ts of being a meerkat—how to spot and
avoid predators and how to find and eat food. For example, meerkats often eat
scorpions, a dangerous meal. To teach a young pup how, the mentor brings it
a scorpion. Depending on the age of the pup, the scorpion will either be dead
(for beginners), wounded, or alive but stingless (for advanced). The mentor
watches how the pup interacts with the scorpion, prompting certain behavior
as needed. Meerkats are among only a few animals on earth known to actively
teach their young how to survive. In fact, when raised as pets, isolated from
a meerkat group, they fail to teach their pups because no mentor was present
as they grew up. The very act of teaching is learned from the mentors.

Who Organized These Desert Clans?

Meerkats’ social structure allows them to thrive in the harsh desert. If another
group of meerkats attacks, everyone bands together to defend the home burrow.
As the group grows, or should a cave-in occur, an excavation crew will repair
and improve the burrow system.

Impressive as each job is, their willingness to work together is even more
amazing. The alpha pair does not assign jobs. Each meerkat simply fills the
need as it arises without delay. Without this exemplary work ethic, the meerkat
gang would never survive in the desert.

Evolutionary scientists claim that this complicated society evolved over long
periods of time. But all the pieces must be in place at the same time for the
meerkats to survive. Mentors without sentinels would be overcome by predators,
while sentinels without mentors would not know survival skills to pass along
to the next generation.

Creation scientists are still trying to work out the details. It appears that
creatures were initially equipped with some instinctive behaviors, but their
brains are wired to acquire new skills (which can be lost if not passed along).

The possibility of acquiring such complex social skills by trial and error
is unfathomable, but it makes perfect sense if a loving God put everything into
place all at once.

SourceThis article originally appeared on answersingenesis.org

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