Meerkat society runs on roles. While the adults forage, a babysitter stays behind at the burrow to guard the young. That babysitter also acts as a scout — scanning the sky for raptors, the ground for snakes, the horizon for anything that moves. The young meerkats watch and imitate, learning the postures and the vigilance that will one day be their responsibility. This image was made in the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, where three years of working with habituated meerkat clans produced the kind of access that allows a photograph like this. Habituated is not the same as tame — these animals were wild, simply accustomed to human presence. The young scout here was practising a role it would one day perform in earnest. Print Details Printed on museum-grade fine art paper using archival pigment inks with a 100+ year lifespan Generous white border for easy framing Limited edition — signed, numbered and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity Shipped unframed in protective, eco-friendly packaging Carbon-neutral printing and packaging 10% of every sale supports Botswana Predator Conservation and African wildlife conservation Available Sizes Small: 12" x 8" | 305 x 203mm | Editions of 25 Medium: 24" x 16" | 609 x 406mm | Editions of 15 Large: 36" x 24" | 914 x 609mm | Editions of 10 X-Large: 60" x 40" | 1524 x 1016mm | Editions of 5 About This Image Location: Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, Botswana Photographer: Devon Jenkin Made during three years of working with habituated meerkat clans in the Makgadikgadi — wild animals accustomed to human presence, not tame ones. While the adults foraged, this young meerkat stayed at the burrow with the babysitter, imitating the sentry posture it would one day perform in earnest. The Makgadikgadi clans offered access that most wildlife photographers never get.
