ID these critters, please

[panache45]

I took this photo a couple of decades ago in the Bronx Zoo. What are these animals?

[SeaDragonTattoo]

Meerkats!

[SeaDragonTattoo]

linky

(missed the edit up there)

[jjimm]

Compare the meerkat.

[PapSett]

Adorable meerkats! One of my favorite critters in the world! Great picture!

[MikeS]

If you've seen The Lion King, the character Timon is supposed to be a meerkat.

[jayjay]

Meerkats! They're cousins of civets and mongooses (mongeese?). They live in colonies, and they stand up on their hind legs to act as lookouts. Cute as hell.

There's a whole "reality show" about them called "Meerkat Manor"...it's like a soap opera produced by Mutual of Omaha...

[Sailboat]

The meerkat: ineffably superior to the mere cat.

[panache45]

Thanks guys! I didn't recognize them, since they weren't standing up.

[Darwin's Finch]

Originally Posted by jayjay

Meerkats! They're cousins of civets and mongooses (mongeese?).

They're not exactly cousins of mongooses; they are mongooses (mongooses and meerkats are separate genera within Herpestidae, the mongoose family). Civets (Viverridae) and mongooses (Herpestidae) are both members of Feliformia, so those two groups do ultimately share a common ancestor.

[Wile E]

That's a really good picture.

[WotNot]

Originally Posted by Darwin's Finch

They're not exactly cousins of mongooses; they are mongooses (mongooses and meerkats are separate genera within Herpestidae, the mongoose family). Civets (Viverridae) and mongooses (Herpestidae) are both members of Feliformia, so those two groups do ultimately share a common ancestor.

Simples.

[ShibbOleth]

Look like Brooklynites to me.

[panache45]

Originally Posted by Wile E

That's a really good picture.

It's a little out of focus, in spite of some sharpening in Photoshop. I guess it's the best I could do with the camera I had back then.