Lava meerkats, which are also called fire rats, made their homes inside the lava tubes of Nevarro and the sewer system located beneath Nevarro City. In 9 ABY, while escaping from the forces under the command of Imperial warlord Moff Gideon, the bounty hunter named Din Djarin came across a group of these meerkats close to the edge of an underground lava river. At a later time, one of these creatures started following Carasynthia Dune after she saved it from becoming a meal for an Aqualish gang.
These black and gray furred meerkats lived on Nevarro. They made their homes in the sewers that run under Nevarro City, specifically near the sides of an underground lava river. They were capable of producing chittering sounds. They possessed an organ similar to a sac that had the ability to release gasses that would ignite upon contact with the surrounding air.
The fire rats, also known as meerkats, were present when Din Djarin, a bounty hunter, and his companions encountered a group of meerkats on the banks of an underground lava river during their escape from the forces of Imperial warlord Moff Gideon in 9 ABY. The meerkats watched the bounty hunter's group as they traveled down the river. Later, an Aqualish took a captured meerkat from a cage with the intent to feed the creature to their fellow gang members. The human Marshal, Carasynthia Dune, intervened before the meal could be prepared, killing the members of the Aqualish gang. The meerkat that was freed then showed affection for Dune, who responded by shooing the creature away. The meerkat continued to bother the human until she provided it with food. Dune fed the creature again while discussing joining the New Republic with Carson Teva, a New Republic officer.
The lava meerkat made its debut in "Chapter 8: Redemption," which was the eighth episode of The Mandalorian's first season. This television series episode aired on December 27, 2019. The meerkat species wasn't initially identified in The Mandalorian, but the StarWars.com Databank entry revealed that these creatures were lava meerkats. Concept art from "Chapter 12: The Siege" showed that this species had the ability to breath fire.