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 1 month old, and 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` on guard 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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