Featured Article: Are meerkats naturally generous?
When it comes to lending a helping paw, meerkats are quite altruistic. Strangely, they evolved from the mongoose -- a real loner. What gives? See more »
Small carnivores help control the populations of rodents, snakes and insects. Small carnivores include animals like weasels, wolverines, minks and badgers.
When it comes to lending a helping paw, meerkats are quite altruistic. Strangely, they evolved from the mongoose -- a real loner. What gives? See more »
Mealtime in the Kalahari Desert isn't exactly an all-you-can-eat buffet. Meerkats eat what they can get -- even poisonous scorpions. Why doesn't the venom hurt them?
See more »When it comes to lending a helping paw, meerkats are quite altruistic. Strangely, they evolved from the mongoose -- a real loner. What gives?
See more »She's a vicious social climber, willing to do anything to get to the top. In her quest to be queen, she's snubbed girls and stolen their men. Oh, yes -- and she's a meerkat.
See more »From sonnets to Skype, humans have been perfecting communication for centuries. Meerkats have their own ways of pointing out danger, food and even happiness.
See more »You're probably familiar with celebrity meerkats like the Whiskers clan and Timon. But do you know anything else about this creature from the Kalahari?
See more »If you've been sprayed by a skunk, you probably ended up in a bathtub filled with tomato juice. But is there any truth to this treatment, or should we debunk the skunk?
See more »Meerkats aren't your typical cute, furry rodents. These desert dwellers are members of close-knit communities where everyone pitches in to look out for predators and teach the young. When they aren't looking for a bite to eat or grooming each other's fur, however, meerkats can be lethally competitive. What is it about these African critters that leaves us so enthralled?
See more »If the animal world were school, otters would be those kids who never leave the playground. Always begging for five more minutes of recess, otters take playtime very seriously.
See more »Young meerkat pups pass their days in the Kalahari Desert by playing. But it's not all fun and games: Playtime makes them vulnerable to predators. So why persist?
See more »With their built-in masks and ability to snatch food, it seems raccoons were meant for a life of crime. But do these thieves wash away the evidence by rinsing food in water?
See more »Badger, a rather short, thickset, fur-bearing mammal. Badgers have extremely powerful forelegs with long claws, which they use to dig their burrows.
See more »Ermine, any weasel whose fur turns white in winter. The term usually refers to the short-tailed weasel, or stoat (Mustela erminea), of Eurasia and North America.
See more »Ferret, a carnivorous mammal related to the weasel. The domestic ferret, when mature, is about 19 inches (48 cm) long, including a 5-inch (13-cm) tail.
See more »Otter, a mammal that lives in and near water. Otters are related to weasels, badgers, and skunks.
See more »Raccoon, a small, furred animal found in the Western Hemisphere from southern Canada to Paraguay.
See more »Skunk, a mammal found only in the Americas and noted for its offensive odor. Skunks are black or blackish with various types of white markings and have long, bushy tails.
See more »Wolverine, a meat-eating animal of the Northern Hemisphere. The name is probably derived from "wolf," although wolverines and wolves are not related.
See more »Civet, a small, catlike mammal related to the mongoose. There are several species, most of which inhabit forests or savannas in Africa and Southeast Asia.
See more »Coati, or Coatimundi, a small mammal related to the raccoon. There are two species.
See more »Fossa, a mammal related to the mongoose. It lives in the forested areas of the island of Madagascar.
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