Rising heat puts the Kalahari’s ecosystem on the edge of survival

Description

On the parched savanna of southern Africa, searing temperatures and crippling droughts threaten a delicate balance of life.

For meerkats—a kind of mongoose—survival is a group effort. Sentries scan for danger, and lower-ranked adults, mostly females, feed and mind the senior female’s pups. It’s not clear how climate change will affect meerkats here, but hotter, drier summers may reduce their numbers.