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Because of their long, nimble toes that resemble fingers, African tribesmen once called meerkats ''mishumaa saba,'' which means "little man with finger-hands." Meerkats are extremely dexterous, and can eat a variety of insects including scorpions, as they are immune to their venom. They also eat most desert beetles, and line their burrows with the shells for insulation. When a male meerkat hopes to mate with a female meerkat, he brings her gifts of beetle shells to decorate her burrow, in hopes of impressing her. Meerkats also use their hand-like paws to communicate with each other using a form of sign language.

Because of their long, nimble toes that resemble fingers, African tribesmen once called meerkats ''mishumaa saba,'' which means "little man with finger-hands." Meerkats are extremely dexterous, and can eat a variety of insects including scorpions, as they are immune to their venom. They also eat most desert beetles, and line their burrows with the shells for insulation. When a male meerkat hopes to mate with a female meerkat, he brings her gifts of beetle shells to decorate her burrow, in hopes of impressing her. Meerkats also use their hand-like paws to communicate with each other using a form of sign language.

Many animal lovers revere the meerkat, creating multi-million dollar displays for them at zoos and wildlife parks, and they were celebrated in the Discovery Channel TV show "Meerkat Manor"  and the [[Disney]] movie ''[[The Lion King]]''.   

Many animal lovers revere the meerkat, creating multimillion-dollar displays for them at zoos and wildlife parks, and they were celebrated in the Discovery Channel TV show "Meerkat Manor"  and the [[Disney]] movie ''[[The Lion King]]''.   

[[Category:Carnivores]]

[[Category:Carnivores]]