Struggles of jackals and meerkats in Namibia
Meerkats evading a mother jackal that is searching for food for her cubs.
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Transcript
Namibia in southern Africa - a jackal has appeared near a Meerkat colony. The sentinels have spotted the predator. The alarm calls alert the entire colony and everyone retreats into the safety of the burrow. The jackal is tantalizingly close to his prey, but the meerkats are just out of reach. The hunter moves on to try his luck elsewhere.
The next morning, the colony are up early to scan the horizon. They are on the look-out for the jackal from the night before. A mother with her young pups is particularly anxious – her youngsters are outside the burrow for the first time and would make easy prey for any hunter.
But the jackal is a long way from the colony. She is returning to her own cubs, after an unsuccessful night hunting. She has five hungry mouths to feed and there's little time for respite. The youngsters greet her eagerly, but she has nothing to offer. They will have to go hungry today. The young cubs still depend on their parents for food, and not all of them will survive these first few weeks of life. When prey is scarce, the adults have little choice but to feed on beetles and other insects. For the growing cubs, this meager diet may not be enough. The female is off hunting again, whilst her cubs wait patiently in the shade.
The next morning, the colony are up early to scan the horizon. They are on the look-out for the jackal from the night before. A mother with her young pups is particularly anxious – her youngsters are outside the burrow for the first time and would make easy prey for any hunter.
But the jackal is a long way from the colony. She is returning to her own cubs, after an unsuccessful night hunting. She has five hungry mouths to feed and there's little time for respite. The youngsters greet her eagerly, but she has nothing to offer. They will have to go hungry today. The young cubs still depend on their parents for food, and not all of them will survive these first few weeks of life. When prey is scarce, the adults have little choice but to feed on beetles and other insects. For the growing cubs, this meager diet may not be enough. The female is off hunting again, whilst her cubs wait patiently in the shade.