Meerkats in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana
© Aluma Images/Getty Images
Cousins Day: Just be 'cuz'. Can you see the family resemblance?
Honestly, we're not sure who decided that July 24 was Cousins Day, but we're all for it—and these meerkats look like they are too. A clan (also called a mob, gang, or manor) usually contains about 20 or 30 meerkats, but some extended families have 50 or more. Females can detect the odor of their kin and use it to avoid inbreeding. They’re native to southern Africa, including the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, which is where this clan was photographed.Cousins Day is about celebrating the family bonds between first cousins and even distant ones. You probably know that your first cousins are the children of your aunts and uncles, but what about their kids? They're not your second cousins—they're your first cousins once removed (one generation removed). Your children and the children of your first cousins are second cousins. Got it?
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