Story By: Kathryn Quinn, Sub-Editor:  Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News 

This startling image shows a meerkat – as made famous by the UK TV adverts – going against its cute reputation as it bares its teeth whilst eating the insides of a fluffy white bunny rabbit.

The meerkat lives in an enclosure at Dortmund zoo, in Dortmund a city in the state of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany and can be seen with its mouth open and a pieces of the dead rabbit’s entrails in its jaws in the photo.

The photo was taken by zoo worker Stella Gehrmann who looks after the meerkats.

She said: “Meerkats are not rodents like often thought, they are carnivores. Twenty percent of their food comes from small mammals, birds and reptiles. They mostly eat insects.

“The rabbits are dead when fed to the meerkats. We get the rabbits from a breeder who mainly sells the rabbits on for human consumption. They are killed in a humane way before being used.”

She added: “They usually get a rabbit about once a week. Some people get irritated by this but some people react positively.

“They also get grasshoppers, cockroaches, mice, pigeons and quails. The rest of the time they also get fruit and vegetables.”

One Facebook user commented: “I find it a bit disturbing giving the whole rabbit, if it was cut up it would be different.”

Others were more positive saying:”It’s really interesting, I had no idea they ate these.

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