The story behind this picture of Timon is a hoax, sadly. Too bad, because the original news was far more true to our narrative of the meerkat, even if it wasn't true as such.
But here's something that's not sad, and entirely true: Meerkat is an Afrikaans word, though its meaning is not "lake cat" as you might think. In Dutch, the creature is called a "stokstaartje" -- or "little stick-tail". Cute or wot?