Pet Meerkat and New Puppy Duke It Out for Household Supremacy

Living in Namibia may provide this family with some extra opportunities when it comes to local rescue animals. They have a blind baboon and a variety of other exotic creatures living in their home. But it also presents itself inters testing challenges, such as when their resident meerkat gets entirely too suspicious of the domestic breed of dog they bring home—one that may be small now, but is certainly going to grow.

In this video, a captive meerkat can’t stop following and sniffing at the behind of a family in Namibia’s new Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. The dog is already bigger than the meerkat, and is only going to get bigger. We hope the meerkat chooses to make peace with his new brother—for his sake and for the sake of peace in the house.

Related: Meerkat's Tiny Squeaks While Getting Belly Scratches Have People Obsessed

Do Meerkats make Good Pets?

Meerkats are an exotic wild animal native to southern Africa. A member of the mongoose family, meerkats are most well known thanks to cartoon sidekick Timon in The Lion King as well as for the documentary television series Meerkat Manor. The latter of these two depictions is more accurate, not only because it’s not a cartoon, but also because it depicts the meerkats in their natural habitat, living in a colony of others of its species, rather than making friends with warthogs and lion cubs.

But the Meerkat in this video does not live on the savannah with other meerkats. These animals are sometimes kept as pets, but they actually make very poor companion animals, due to their wild nature, their need to live in groups, their desire to dig and burrow, their sharp bite and territorial instincts, and their specialized, insectivorous diet, which is unsuited to replacement with commercial dog or cat food.

Based on the videos of this content creator, they are running a sort of wildlife rescue and can hopefully account for all these specialized needs, but seriously: do not try this at home. As they say on the information section of their page—these are orphaned animals, not pets.

All About the Rhodesian Ridgeback

Rhodesian Ridgebacks, on the other hand, make far more pleasant pets. A large hound breed, they also come from southern Africa, where they were bred to be hunting hounds focusing on large game like lions. As the name implies, they are notable for the upright ridge of hair that grows down the center of their backs, and have otherwise short, smooth coats of a rich reddish brown. They are large, athletic dogs, who grow up to eighty pounds, and exhibit a strong prey drive. (In this case, we hope their dad is ready to train them to be gentle with the resident wildlife!)

Rhodesian Ridgebacks are among the most beautiful of dog breeds, and they can be affectionate and loyal family dogs. However, they are also not far removed from their hunting hound background, and can sometimes be difficult to train as a pet rather than a working dog. They are powerfully athletic and intelligent, and need regular exercise and engagement to help manage their instinctive urges to hunt.

And if this video is anything to go by, the puppies are powerfully cute.

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