Kalahari Meerkat Project
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The Kalahari Meerkat Project, or KMP, is a long term research project focused on studying the evolutionary causes and ecological consequences of cooperative behaviors in
meerkat The meerkat (''Suricata suricatta'') or suricate is a small mongoose found in southern Africa. It is characterised by a broad head, large eyes, a pointed snout, long legs, a thin tapering tail, and a brindled coat pattern. The head-and-body ...
s. The secondary aims of the project are to determine what factors affect the reproductive success of the meerkats and what behavioral and physiological mechanisms control both reproduction and cooperative behavior.Earthwatch: Meerkats of the Kalahari Expedition Briefing
by Professor Tim Clutton-Brock
The project is also working on monitoring overall plant and animal populations within the reserve and work with the nearby community of Van Zylsrus in the areas of
conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...
and
sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
use of resources. Situated at the Kuruman River Reserve in
Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, close to the border to
Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
, the project is jointly funded by
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and the
Kalahari Research Trust The Kalahari Desert is a large semiarid sandy savanna in Southern Africa covering including much of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal des ...
.


History

The project was founded in the early nineties by researchers (Prof. Tim Clutton-Brock) at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
. It was originally based on the
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a large wildlife reserve and conservation biology, conservation area in southern Africa. The park straddles the border between South Africa and Botswana and comprises two adjoining national parks: * Kalahari Gems ...
, but in 1993 moved to the Kuruman River Reserve, an area spanning approximately twenty square miles of semi-arid area of the
Kalahari Desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semiarid climate, semiarid sandy savanna in Southern Africa covering including much of Botswana as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African ...
on either side of the mostly dry Kuruman River. The reserve consists primarily of sparsely vegetated fossil dunes that flatten out near the river, which is usually dry. The project is now part of the university's "Large Animal Research Group" headed by
Tim Clutton-Brock Timothy Hugh Clutton-Brock (born 13 August 1946) is a British zoologist known for his comparative studies of the behavioural ecology of mammals, particularly red deer and meerkats.FRS, who has headed the Meerkat project since 1993.


Staff

The project usually has 10–15 volunteers who form the main meerkat project staff. They are supervised by a Field Coordinator and a Field Manager. Volunteers come from all over the world and the project is regularly hiring volunteers (see http://www.kalahari-meerkats.com/index.php?id=volunteers). In addition to the core researchers, Earthwatch volunteers aid in collecting research data after being partnered with a staff researcher. There is also usually a South African technician responsible for project logistics, 6–8 post-graduate interns from Europe or
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, and a number of doctorate and independent researchers carrying out their own research in the area. There are rarely fewer than 10 people working in the project area at any given time. The principal investigators of the project are Prof.
Tim Clutton-Brock Timothy Hugh Clutton-Brock (born 13 August 1946) is a British zoologist known for his comparative studies of the behavioural ecology of mammals, particularly red deer and meerkats.Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...
at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, and Prof. Marta Manser, Professor of
Animal Behavior Ethology is a branch of zoology that studies the behaviour of non-human animals. It has its scientific roots in the work of Charles Darwin and of American and German ornithologists of the late 19th and early 20th century, including Charle ...
at the
University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...
.


Subjects

The KMP study encompasses 16 groups of meerkats, with six living exclusively on the reserve and the rest having ranges that extend into the surrounding farmland. Most members of the groups are familiar enough with the human researchers that they are undisturbed by their presence and are relatively easy to touch and collect samples from. Extremely accurate life history records are kept for each meerkat in the study populations, including the recording of births, deaths, pregnancies,
lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The process ...
and
oestrus The estrous cycle (, originally ) is a set of recurring physiological changes induced by reproductive hormones in females of mammalian subclass Theria. Estrous cycles start after sexual maturity in females and are interrupted by anestrous phas ...
cycles, changes in social status and group affiliation, and any abnormal behaviors or activities. The project team offers film crews and wildlife photographers the chance to film the habituated groups of meerkats at the reserve. The KMP meerkats have been the subjects of several documentary programs, including: * ''
Meerkat Manor ''Meerkat Manor'' is a British television documentary produced by Oxford Scientific Films that premiered in September 2005. Originally broadcast on Animal Planet International for four seasons, until its cancellation in August 2008, the pro ...
'', a popular
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel focusing on the animal kingdom owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1 ...
docu-drama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typ ...
series focused mostly on The Whiskers, one of the long-term study groups * ''Ella, A Meerkat's Tale'', a 2005 one-hour special from
Oxford Scientific Films Oxford Scientific Films (OSF) is a British production company that produces natural history and documentary programmes owned by ITV Studios. Founded as an independent company on 8 July 1968, by documentary filmmaker Gerald Thompson, it broke ne ...
that follows the life of one young female that breaks the rules and has pups despite being a subordinate female * ''Meerkats'', a 2003
Nigel Marven Nigel Alan Marven (born 27 November 1960) is a British wildlife TV presenter, naturalist, conservationist, author, and television producer. He is best known as presenter of the BBC miniseries '' Chased by Dinosaurs'', its sequel, ''Sea Monsters' ...
film * " Life of Mammals", a 2002 episode for Sir
David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature d ...
's series on
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
* "Walking with Meerkats: Meerkat Madness", a 2001 30-minute
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
special produced by Big Wave TV that focuses on the Lazuli research group The title may refer to the BBC production
Walking with Dinosaurs ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' is a 1999 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Tim Haines and produced by the BBC Science Unit, the Discovery Channel and BBC Worldwide, in association with TV Asahi, ProSieben and France 3. ...
and its sister shows
Walking with Beasts ''Walking with Beasts'', marketed as ''Walking with Prehistoric Beasts'' in North America, is a 2001 six-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Impossible Pictures and produced by the BBC Science Unit, the Discovery Channel, Pr ...
and
Walking with Monsters ''Walking with Monsters – Life Before Dinosaurs'', marketed as ''Before the Dinosaurs – Walking with Monsters'' in North America, is a 2005 three-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Impossible Pictures and produced by ...
. In May 2010, Lapland Studio announced it was releasing a
video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...
entitled ''Lead the Meerkats'' for the
Nintendo Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America, and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, ...
and would be donating proceeds from copies sold on the first day to the project. Clutton-Brock and Evi Bauer, president of the Friends of the Kalahari Meerkat Project, expressed excitement over the games release as a way to educate people about meerkats through a fairly realistic game.


Friends of the Kalahari Meerkat Project

"Friends of the Kalahari Meerkat Project" is a legally independent, but functionally integrated, sponsoring organization of the project that was founded in Switzerland on 23 November 2007. Through this website, the Kalahari Meerkat Project releases information about the meerkats, including life history updates for all of the individual meerkats and the meerkat groups being studied, updates on the current groups, historical information on lost groups, and basic information about meerkats. The project uploads its own photographs and video footage of the meerkats, available for viewing for free. In April 2008, the site began selling "Friends" packages to offer a way to support the project. The Friends package includes additional project information not published on the site, as well as detailed information comparing the actual project meerkats to their counterparts in ''
Meerkat Manor ''Meerkat Manor'' is a British television documentary produced by Oxford Scientific Films that premiered in September 2005. Originally broadcast on Animal Planet International for four seasons, until its cancellation in August 2008, the pro ...
''. On 8 June 2008, the site was expanded to include a virtual store, powered by
Zazzle Zazzle is an American online marketplace that allows designers and customers to create their own products with independent manufacturers (clothing, posters, etc.), as well as use images from participating companies. Zazzle has partnered with man ...
, through which the project offers a variety of custom meerkat items. Proceeds from the items go to support the project and the Friends program.


References


External links


Kalahari Meerkat Project websiteFriends of the Kalahari Meerkat Project website
{{Meerkat Manor Behavioral ecology Meerkat Manor Kalahari Desert