TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
March 24, 2017 at 11:00 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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It might look cute but when it stands upright on its hind legs, you can understand why the meerkat is often referred to as the “gangster of the savannah.”
There's a bunch of these animal hoodlums hanging out and acting tough in the mean streets of the Yokohama Zoological Gardens (aka Zoorasia) in the city’s Asahi Ward.
On a warm day in late January at Zoorasia, the gang is killing time sunbathing, lying on their backs with their legs wide and loose.
After having dealt with many mischievous creatures, it seemed to be an easy job to film the meerkats completely relaxing and walking around in their exhibition facility.
“They may toy around with it,” zoo attendant Mana Ishida, 23, said before she set up the video camera. “Meerkats are curious animals.”
And she was right. As soon as she started looking for a place for the camera, a mob of the inquisitive meerkats, also known as suricates, huddled around her. When the camcorder was placed, they crowded around it and lashed out. With the lens covered in scratches, filming had to be shut down in just five minutes.
Usually living in southern Africa, the meerkat has long, curved and very sharp claws that are good for digging burrows as well as scratching cameras. The omnivorous animal eats whatever takes its fancy: insects, reptiles, small mammals, fruit and even venomous scorpions.
In the wild, meerkats live in gangs numbering about 10 to 30 fully clawed up members.
Despite the name, they are actually not cats, but are carnivores of the mongoose family.
Don't mess with them.
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