10 Horrifying Animal Facts You Really Don't Want To Know

8. Meerkats Are Baby-Murdering Slave Drivers

Hang on, are these the same adorable little guys that sell us car insurance? Or lovingly dance with warthogs in our favourite Disney movies? The answer is nope, nope; absolutely not. The real meerkats are beastly dictators that practice infanticide and strictly regulate control within their communities. A mob of meerkats is governed by an alpha couple, and they decide who mates with whom. There's no democracy here, and usually it's only the alpha dictators that reserve the right to reproduce; so when lower-level meerkats break the rules, their young are murdered by the alpha pair. The subordinate mother will be then be enslaved as a wet nurse to care for the alpha female's young. If she resists, she is exiled, leaving her dangerously vulnerable to predators. Hakuna Matata?