The meerkat is famous for using termite mounds as elevated lookout points.
Meerkats are small mongooses that live in southern Africa, especially in dry habitats such as the Kalahari. They often stand upright while one member of the group watches for predators, including jackals, martial eagles and snakes. A raised termite mound gives the sentinel a better view of the surrounding terrain.
Meerkats live in cooperative groups usually called mobs, gangs or clans. While some individuals forage, others take turns guarding, and adults may also help care for young. A sentinel gives an alarm call when danger approaches, sending the group toward burrows or cover.
Termite mounds are useful lookout platforms, but meerkats also use rocks, bushes and other raised ground. Their burrows may be excavated themselves or expanded from existing underground shelters. The animal is not a rodent; it is a mongoose relative in the family Herpestidae.