Question: why do some animals like merrcats mark their teritory from their own species?

Valeria Senigaglia answered on 18 Jun 2012:

Meerkats are very territorials at group level and leaving a chemical trace marking their territory helps them to claim the property over an area. There are many advantages to be in a “small” (for small I don’t mean 2 or 3 but a smaller number compared to the total population size) group instead of a big population, for example you will have more food.