3 baby meerkats make their debut at Brookfield Zoo

BROOKFIELD, Ill. (CBS) – Brookfield Zoo’s newest residents steal the show.

Three baby meerkats born in October have made their big debut in the zoo’s Desert’s Edge exhibit. They are already climbing and exploring their new home.

Known for their curiosity, meerkats are skilled diggers with sharp claws designed for speed.

Meerkats live in dry areas such as the Namib and Kalahari deserts in Africa and prefer sandy or even rocky soil. They avoid forests, mountains and true deserts, the zoo noted. In a true desert, no more than 25 centimeters of precipitation falls per year.

Meerkats are immune to many poisons, including scorpion stings. In the wild they eat scorpions, but also spiders, centipedes and various insects. They also eat reptile eggs, rodents, small birds, lizards, snails and plants.

At the zoo, they eat cat food, dry dog ​​food, vegetables, insects such as crickets and mealworms, ribs, fish and mice.

Meerkats need to eat every day because their bodies have very little fat.

And lest you be fooled by their cuteness, they are also known to start dust fights to distract attackers.