A small mongoose (family Herpestidae), 35–50 cm long, with a long, slender body and short legs that stands upright using its tail for balance and signalling. It is social, living in burrows in families called mobs, clans, or gangs, with at least one watching out for predators while the others forage. Meerkats feed mainly on insects, but also eat scorpions and a variety of vertebrates. They are immune to scorpion and some snake venom. They occur only in southern Africa.