>Well, how many of you watched the Wild Kingdoms Meercats secret world?
>I found out that they might have a ferrety appearance but that is where
>the similarity stops dead in its tracks.  These animals were so much more
>fascinating than I ever dreamed.  They were NOTHING like I expected.  And
>to see it through the photographers admiring eyes was just priceless.
 
(BIG, I hope this is OT enough to count. <g>)  [Is there a contest?  BIG]
 
Meerkats do look a lot like weasely little guys on first glance, but
their social structure is indeed quite different.  I wondered at first
if they were related, but they are a different family.  They're order
Carnivora, of course, but that's where they diverge.  Their family is
Viverridae, not Mustela.  This family includes a lot of species, such as
civets and genets, as well as the binturong (Bearcat, which is a helluva
lot bigger and, if you've never seen one, exceedingly hard to describe).
Surprisingly, the mongoose, which people always seem to think is a weasel
(and people frequently mention Riki Tiki Tavi to me if they are
unfamiliar with ferrets!), is actually a member of this family too.
 
Just goes to show that initial appearance doesn't count for
everything. <g>
 
I have been told that it is possible to have a meerkat as a pet if it
is handraised from infancy, and that this is sometimes done in some parts
of Africa.  Some zoos have "tame" meerkats in the education department.
I don't advocate the ownership of any wild animals, and I would have to
say I think this is a bad idea, but it is interesting how friendly and
cute the little guys *can* be under the right conditions.  (I say "can"
because they can also be quite mean and nasty.  My SO, who is a
zookeeper, cares for meerkats, and these guys bite and they mean
business.)
 
-Natasha
[Posted in FML issue 4086]