In the event that a developing female meerkat’s hormones override the system, and she has the temerity to get knocked up by a roving male, retaliation is swift and terminal. The pregnant subordinate will be unceremoniously evicted. The ensuing stress generally triggers her to abort. If she manages to go full term without detection and give birth in the den, the matriarch will kill and eat any unwelcome pups – very often her own grandchildren – and banish the female from the group.
