A few months ago I finally managed to take that long awaited trip to the Kalahari, and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Having seen much of the Southern African wildlife before, it was not about wanting to see the big cats, although they are always amazing to see; it was more about enjoying all of our sightings and appreciating the unique landscape I found myself in.
And whilst I appreciate everything we came across, one of my most enjoyed sightings was the Meerkat, or Suricate, as they are otherwise know. We actually stopped to look at an eagle in a tree, and when I looked out of my side window, there they were. Two meerkats wearily keeping an eye on that eagle on top of the tree, and not far off, some ground squirrels, doing exactly the same.
I was so excited to see these little guys. I had only seen Meerkat once before in Addo, in the Eastern Cape. They tend to live more in the Southern Part of our country, and in dry regions like the Kalahari, the Namib, and as far north as southwestern Angola. They were much smaller than I thought, and super cute. We saw another few a bit later, not as close, and one of the things that is so unique about them, is their standing pose. Actually made me think of Charlie Chaplin.
The other “little guys”, that were around in abundance, were the ground squirrel, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them all over the countryside.
It’s amazing how some of the fondest memories of this dry remote Park centre around these two little creatures, and I still find myself smiling thinking about it.
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