The meerkat (Suricata suricatta) or suricate is a small carnivoran in the mongoose family. It is the only member of the genus 'Suricata'. Meerkats live in all parts of the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, in much of the Namib Desert in Namibia and southwestern Angola, and in South Africa. A group of meerkats is called a "mob", "gang" or "clan". A meerkat clan often contains about 20 meerkats, but some super-families have 50 or more members. In captivity, meerkats have an average life span of 12–14 years, and about 6-7 years in the wild.

Meerkats are primarily insectivores, but also eat other animals (lizards, snakes, scorpions, spiders, eggs, small mammals, millipedes, centipedes and, more rarely, small birds), plants and fungi. Meerkats are immune to certain types of venom, including the very strong venom of the scorpions of the Kalahari Desert.

Baby meerkats do not start foraging for food until they are about one month old, and they do so by following an older member of the group who acts as the pup's tutor. Meerkats forage in a group with one sentry watching for predators while the others search for food. Sentry duty is usually approximately an hour long. The meerkat standing guard makes peeping sounds when all is well.

A meerkat has the ability to dig through a quantity of sand equal to its own weight in just seconds. Digging is done to create burrows, to get food and also to create dust clouds to distract predators.

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