Cara Kruse has been an integral part of the Busch Gardens’ Zoological department for 5 years.  In September 2007, she had the opportunity to participate in a landmark Earthwatch project studying meerkats of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.

One of the most distinguishing characteristics of meerkats is their cooperative behavior.  They spend part or all of their lives helping other meerkats raise their young, rather than breeding themselves.  This altruistic behavior is rarely seen in other animals as most species measure success by the number of offspring they raise.  With the support from the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, Cara worked alongside world renowned researchers to gain insight to the cooperative behavior and social structure of meerkats.  Historically the explanation for this behavior was that related animals benefit by having shared genetic traits passed on through the young they help nurture.  However recent studies suggest there may also be more immediate benefits associated with cooperative behavior.  The increased parental experience not only raises altruistic individuals’ mating successes by allowing them to remain in the breeding territory but also increases the survivability of their young.  Additionally cooperative breeding increases the size of the group in which they live, helping their survivability because there is safety in numbers.  This ongoing behavioral study has and will continue to increase our understanding of cooperative societies, including our own. 

We are proud of Cara’s achievements as she is a role model for future researchers and scientists!  Please stop by the Edge of Africa area of the park to conduct your own meerkat observations!