Meerkat on Guard

A meerkat on sentry duty. Meerkats are members of the mongoose family. They live in communal groups led by an alpha pair in the Kalahari desert in Botswana and South Africa. The are diurnal, burrowing mammals. Meerkats forage for food in groups, with one standing sentry to watch for predators. They eat insects, and also lizards, snakes, scorpions, plants and eggs. They use their long tail for balance and have black eye patches that help shade their eyes in the hot sun.

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