Meerkats are the classic first animal. They're cheap, they fit in a small habitat, guests love them, and they breed fast enough to keep your release groups full. The only real danger is that they breed too well. If you stop paying attention, you'll get inbreeding warnings within a few years.
Building a meerkat habitat
Meerkats are simple once you know what they want:
- Lots of soil. If the welfare tab says they want more soil, it means it. Paint most of the habitat in soil and keep grass to a minimum.
- No waterlogged ground. Don't paint wet terrain here, even though it looks nice around a drinking spot.
- Water access. They still need something to drink from.
- Burrows. Burrows don't need any research, so you can place them from day one. They're the meerkats' shelter.
- Small rocky cover. A few small rocks to hide behind.
A small habitat is enough for a starter family. Keep the barrier low and solid so they can't dig or climb out.
Getting meerkats to thriving
Once your vets research meerkats far enough, the thriving requirements appear. For my meerkats the list was:
- One more small burrow on top of what they already had.
- Small rocky cover (a cluster of little rocks).
- Food grade 2, which costs more per feed but is worth it.
That's all. Meerkats are one of the easiest species to get thriving, so they're a good way to raise the "subset thriving" part of your zoo rating early on.
Some of the research levels stay blocked until you release meerkats into the wild. Do a release first, then come back to the research centre.
Breeding and inbreeding
This is where most people run into trouble.
- Elderly meerkats can still breed. They become less appealing to guests, but they aren't sterile. Don't assume an old female is "done".
- When offspring mature, they'll breed with their parents or siblings. You'll start seeing inbreeding alerts.
- Use contraceptives on young animals you plan to keep, or move them out before they mature.
- Rename your key animals so you can tell them apart in the family tree.
Release groups
Meerkats have two release options:
- Family group: 4 males + 4 females.
- Mating pair: a male and a female with at least 50% genetic diversity. Siblings won't qualify (one sibling pair I tried was well under that). Animals from different sellers on the market aren't related.
You can also quick release spare young males. That earned about 12 credits each, which isn't much, but it's free space and free credits.
Bought animals can't be released, only quick traded. Release their offspring instead.
Reserve role
Meerkats count as a soil rooter and small prey in the wildlife reserve. Together with aardvarks they cover the soil rooter role in a grassland ecosystem. They won't satisfy predators that need medium or large prey, though, so you'll need antelope or buffalo for that.