Prey -
The Meerkat is a carnivorous animal which means that despite it's small size, it only forages for and eats small animals in order to gain all of the nutrition (and most of the moisture) that is needs to survive. Like other Mongoose species, Meerkats have an excellent sense of smell which is used to sniff out potential prey that is lurking just under the surface of the sand.
Once detected, Meerkats then use their long and sharp front claws to dig out their prey, with the majority of their diet being made up of insects and other small invertebrates, along with also eating larger animals such as Lizards and Rodents.
Due to the fact that Meerkats are small in size and have adapted to living in such a harsh environment, they must spend a great deal of their waking hours foraging for food as they are known to loose around 5% of their body-weight during the night and must therefore ensure that they have enough to eat every day.
Once detected, Meerkats then use their long and sharp front claws to dig out their prey, with the majority of their diet being made up of insects and other small invertebrates, along with also eating larger animals such as Lizards and Rodents.
Due to the fact that Meerkats are small in size and have adapted to living in such a harsh environment, they must spend a great deal of their waking hours foraging for food as they are known to loose around 5% of their body-weight during the night and must therefore ensure that they have enough to eat every day.