As the sun rises over the Kalahari Desert, meerkat groups emerge from their burrows and gather closely, turning their bodies toward the warmth of the early light. These quiet morning moments are more than a way to warm up; they offer a revealing glimpse into the social lives of these highly cooperative mammals.
A team of researchers from the University of Konstanz, the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, and the University of Zurich has investigated how meerkats use vocal exchanges to maintain social bonds and manage their complex group hierarchies. The study, which was recently published in Behavioural Ecology, explores the concept of “vocal grooming”—a form of social bonding achieved through sound rather than physical touch.

“Grooming at a distance”
Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) live in cohesive groups structured by a strict dominance hierarchy, typically led by a dominant breeding pair and supported by subordinate helpers that assist in rearing offspring, defending territory, and maintaining social stability. While physical grooming – individuals touching one another’s fur or skin to remove parasites or dirt – plays a well-established role in reinforcing social bonds, it requires close contact and time, resources that can be limited in large or spatially dispersed groups.

Vlad Demartsev, postdoctoral researcher at the “Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour” (CASCB) at the University of Konstanz and the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, and his colleagues showed that meerkats may use sound as an alternative, low-key way to stay socially connected and manage group hierarchies. So-called “sunning calls”—soft, tonal vocalizations produced during morning sunning sessions—allow individuals to maintain social ties without direct physical contact. Although these calls resemble submissive vocalizations typically associated with conflict reduction, their occurrence in the low-conflict context of the joint morning sunbath suggests they function as a form of remote social interaction. In effect, meerkats may use the soft-spoken sunning calls for “grooming at a distance.”

To investigate the social role of sunning calls, the research team conducted playback experiments in the Kalahari Desert, where researchers observed meerkat groups during morning sunning sessions. Sunning calls were recorded from individuals, whose social status in the group was known to the researchers by prior observations, and played back to other focal group members, whose vocal responses were recorded and measured. The results revealed clear social patterns that align with earlier work on the Meerkats‘ group dynamics and hierarchical structure.

Social Factors Influence Responsiveness
Subordinate meerkats significantly increased their calling when exposed to calls from dominant individuals, whereas dominant animals showed little change in response to subordinates. This asymmetry suggests that vocal exchanges become more intensive when directed up the hierarchy and may function as appeasement or relationship maintenance toward higher-ranking group members. Females responded more strongly to recorded sunning calls than males, indicating sex-based differences in social strategies. While social bond strength influenced calling behaviour, the effect was nuanced. Initially, the researchers expected that individuals would respond strongly to closely bonded groupmates; however, the results suggested the opposite. Subordinates tended to be more responsive to calls of dominants with whom they had weaker bonds, suggesting that vocal exchanges may help stabilize or improve important but weak social relationships.

Vocal Grooming Strengthens Social Bonds
Together, these findings support the “vocal grooming” hypothesis—the idea that vocal exchanges can fulfill social functions similar to physical grooming. Through these subtle call-and-response interactions, meerkats may reduce tension, prevent conflict, and reinforce social bonds without physical contact.
“Our findings suggest that these vocal exchanges are not random chatter, but a strategic part of meerkat social life,” said Vlad Demartsev. “Engaging in continuous reciprocal interaction can signal cooperation and commitment, which may promote tolerance and improve social affinity. For subordinate meerkats, stable relationships with dominants are crucial, and vocal exchanges might be one of the mechanisms to achieve that.”

By investigating how sound can substitute for touch in maintaining social relationships, this study adds to growing evidence that vocal communication plays a central role in social bonding across species. The findings offer new insights into how animals navigate complex social systems when physical interactions are constrained.

Key facts:

• Original publication: Vlad Demartsev, Gabriella Gall, Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin, Marta B Manser, Dominance asymmetries shape vocal exchanges in meerkats, Behavioral Ecology, 2026.
  Link: https://academic.oup.com/beheco/advance-article/doi/10.1093/beheco/araf156/8443226?login=false&utm_source=authortollfreelink&utm_campaign=beheco&utm_medium=email
  DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araf156
• Dr Vlad Demartsev and Dr Gabriella Gall are postdoctoral researchers at the “Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour” and members of the „Communication & Collective Movement“ group.
• Dr. Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin is the leader of the research group „Communication & Collective Movement“, jointly affiliated with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz Biology Department. Her group studies the mechanisms and consequences of collective behaviour in social animals.
• Professor Marta D Manser is professor of Animal Behaviour at the University of Zurich. Her research focuses on animal behaviour, behavioural ecology and communication in social mammal systems.
• The Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour at the University of Konstanz is an interdisciplinary research centre investigating the principles of collective behaviour in animals and other systems. The Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior is a world-leading research institute dedicated to an integrative understanding of animal behaviour across all levels of organization.
• Funding: This work was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under Germany's Excellence Strategy, the Minerva Foundation, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Young Scholars Fund at the University of Konstanz, the Human Frontier Science Program, the Gips-Schüle Foundation, the Max Planck Society and the University of Zurich.