List of Meerkat Manor meerkats

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This is a list of the major meerkats featured in the British documentary television programme Meerkat Manor produced by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International. The programme documents the antics of meerkats being studied by the Kalahari Meerkat Project. The meerkats live in matriarchal groups lead by a dominant couple, who have exclusive mating and breeding rights. The remainder of the group is usually comprised of the offspring and relatives of the dominant couple.

In the first three series, five major groups of meerkats were regularly shown, however the show's primary focus is on a group called the Whiskers, one of the largest and oldest of the research groups. Other groups featured are neighbouring rival groups of the Whiskers, or groups that were formed by former Whiskers members. During the first series, a group called the Lazuli are the main ones shown as the Whiskers’ rivals, with occasional appearances by the smaller Gattaca group. In the second series, a group called the Commandoes were introduced as one of the toughest rivals the Whiskers had ever faced. In the third series, the Whiskers, having been forced to move by the Commandoes, acquired two new neighbouring groups, the Zappa, with whom they would have frequent confrontations, and the short-lived Starsky that was formed by a trio of evicted Whiskers females.

The meerkat families and individuals are listed in order of appearance with the official names and spellings from the original broadcast of the programme used for their primary identification. Differences in the American or Australian broadcasts are noted as necessary, and meerkats which only appear in one or two episodes, are unnamed, or otherwise have no significance in the overall programme are not included.

Contents 1 Whiskers 1.1 Flower 1.2 Zaphod 1.3 Yossarian 1.4 Shakespeare 1.5 Tosca 1.6 Daisy 1.7 Mitch 1.8 Rocket Dog 1.9 Axle 2 Lazuli 2.1 Cazanna 2.2 Big Si 2.3 JD 3 Commandoes 3.1 Nikita 3.2 Hannibal 3.3 Wilson 4 Zappa 4.1 Lola 4.2 Frank 4.3 Punk 4.4 Houdini 5 Starsky 5.1 Mozart 5.2 Carlos 5.3 Kinkajou 6 Aztecs 6.1 Maybelline 7 Minor groups 7.1 Gattaca 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Whiskers

Dominant female: Rocket Dog^[1]
Dominant male: Zaphod^[1]

The Whiskers, the "stars" of Meerkat Manor, formed in 1998 and are one of the oldest meerkat groups among the Kalahari Meerkat Project. Having swelled to fifty members at one point, they are considered one of the area's most successful meerkat groups.^[2] Researchers selected the Whiskers as the show's primary group because they were well-established, with the individual meerkats and their personalities well-known among the researchers to help the film crew with easier identification.^[3] The Whiskers have been a part of the show since the first episode, at which point they controlled a 3 square miles (7.8 km²) territory that contained over fifty burrows and bolt holes.^[2][4] During the series, the Whiskers experienced multiple "burrow moves" during which the entire family would shift from using one burrow to another, with adults carrying any pups too young to safely make the journey to the new burrow. Flower, their leader, assumed the role of dominant female of the group in 2002. Between the second and third series, the Whiskers lost their territory to their rivals, the Commandoes, and were forced to move to a new location.^[5] Throughout the third series, they managed to increase the size of their new land by taking over territory from their smaller neighbours the Zappa.^[6] Despite losing several adults and pups to death throughout the first three series, the Whiskers grew from having twenty-nine members in the first episode to forty in the last episode of series three.^[4][7] Towards the end of the third series, Flower died, making her daughter Rocket Dog the group's dominant female.

In addition to Meerkat Manor, the Whiskers are the focus of the 2007 book by Professor Tim Clutton-Brock entitled Meerkat Manor: The Story of Flower of the Kalahari, and will be the central focus of the upcoming Meerkat Manor feature film Flower: Queen of the Kalahari.^[8] Both media including extensive information and coverage of the Whiskers' lives before Meerkat Manor started, including showing Flower's early life and her rise to leader.^[9]

[edit] Flower

Born March 15, 2000, Flower became the fearless and formidable leader of the Whiskers in 2002.^[10][11][12] During the course of the series, Flower gave birth to numerous litters of pups, and is believed to have delivered 70 pups over the course of her lifetime.^[11] As the dominant female, Flower had the right to kill any pups born to other females in the group, but she did not exercise that right when her daughters, Tosca and Mozart, had pups at the same time early in the first series.^[13] Seven weeks after the pups were born, however, she evicted both daughters and forced them to leave their pups behind.^[14][15] Flower allowed Mozart back into the group, but evicted her permanently after two more temporary evictions during the first and second series.^[16] Twice, Flower initiated burrow moves that would force a female who had given birth to choose between their new pups or their family. Flower's daughter, Daisy, left her pups to die and rejoined her family, while Mozart accepted eviction and being alone to stay with her pups.^[17][18]

Though Flower was known for ruling with an "iron paw",^[10] she was a devoted mother, affectionate with her family, and gentle with pups including her daughters'.^[10][13] When her young pups were lost in Zappa territory early in the third series, Flower risked a war with their neighbours to find them.^[6] She also accepted Axle, an abandoned pup from the rivalling Zappa, into the Whiskers clan, where normally he would have been killed on sight.^[19] Flower's five-year reign ended late in the third series when she died after being bitten in the face by a Cape Cobra while protecting a litter of newborn pups.^[19]

Flower's death caused a backlash against the Meerkat Manor producers, with fans wondering why the film crew and researchers did not attempt to save the meerkat.^[3][20] The producers and researchers argued that doing so would violate the agreement under which Meerkat Manor was filmed, and that the primary purpose of the Kalahari Meerkat Project is to study "...the breeding success and survival of individuals and ... the factors that effect reproduction and survival."^[3] As such, interfering in the natural processes would render the research results invalid; the purpose of the show is to truly present a realistic view into the meerkats lives including their deaths.^[3] After the announcement of Flower's death, the news wire service United Press International released an obituary-like news story, while fans eulogised the late meerkat in letters, poems, memorial videos on YouTube, and numerous postings to fan sites and fan web forums.^[20] The US Animal Planet web site added a memorial section to their Meerkat Manor site, offering visitors a copy of Flower's obituary, a video tribute, information about the upcoming film, and access to a discussion board and a live chat with the US producer of the series.^[21] Animal Planet aired a film biography of Flower's early life on May 25, 2008. The film, using footage of untamed meerkats and the research notes of Cambridge University, retells the story of how Flower became the dominant female of the Whiskers after the deaths of her mother and sister.^[12][22]

[edit] Zaphod

Zaphod, named after Zaphod Beeblebrox from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, was Flower's devoted partner and the dominant male of the Whiskers.^[4][3] As Zaphod assumed both roles by usurping he tends to be edgy if Yossarian gets too close to Flower.^[23][13] According to the Meerkat Manor: The Series Begins film, Zaphod was a roving Lazuli male before he joined the Whiskers. He and his younger brother, Yossarian, visited the Whiskers at the same time in search of females. Flower's sister Viale, then the dominant female, chooses Yossarian as her mate and he becomes the group's dominant male. Zaphod and Flower also mate, but Viale kills the resulting pups. After Viale's death, Flower assumes the role of dominant female and shows preference to Zaphod for her mate. Yossarian then left the group for an unknown length of time.^[12]

Being one of the largest meerkats in the group earned him the description of a "bruiser", ready and willing to lead the charge against any Whiskers rivals, or rival males trying to get too close to any of the Whiskers females.^[24] After Flower's death in the third series, Zaphod continued to perform the duties as the group's dominant male and would chase off any roving males trying to reach new dominant female Rocket Dog. But as meerkats will not mate with first generation relatives, he eventually left the group and became a roving male.^[25] He returned after two episodes and still acted as the group's dominant male as of the end of series three.^[26] At the start of the fourth series, Zaphod is shown with his own radio collar.^[1]

[edit] Yossarian

Zaphod's younger brother, Yossarian is named after the main character in Catch 22 and has a scar across his left eye, possibly from when he was dropped on his head by a bird of prey as a pup. In the third episode of the series, the narrator states that Yossarian was once Flower's mate and the dominant male of the Whiskers, but Zaphod dethroned him before the series started.^[13] The Meerkat Manor: The Series Begins film states that Yossarian and Zaphod were once roving Lazuli males. Yossarian became the dominant male of the Whiskers when Flower's sister was the dominant female, and then left the group when Flower assumed the role.^[12] Noted as having "some social problems"^[13] and being a trouble-maker, Yossarian initiated two burrow moves while babysitting twice in the first series, but both were badly handled.^[13] The first attempt resulted in a lot of confusion amongst the babysitters, resulting in the eight newborn pups Yossarian dragged out of the burrow being partially trampled and almost left to die in the desert sun.^[13] One of the other babysitters was able to restore order and get the pups to the burrow. A few days later he tried again. This time the babysitters joined him, but as they carried the newborn pups to a new burrow, they passed the main group and Flower and Zaphod ran after them. To avoid Flower's wrath, Yossarian dropped the pup of Mozart that he was carrying and slunk off. The pup died as a result and the rest of the Whiskers temporarily ostracised Yossarian for the havoc wrought by these moves.^[27] Yossarian's attempt to help Daisy by carrying her newborn pups to the Whiskers burrow separated him from the family.^[17] He also rescued one of Flower's pups in the second series after the young pup had wandered too far from the safety of the burrow.^[28]

During the second series, Yossarian began a more concerted effort at finding a mate of his own, and possibly taking over leadership in another group. He made three unsuccessful attempts to reach Cazanna, the dominant female of the Lazuli, after the death of her mate Big Si.^[29][30][31] Nevertheless, he was able to successfully mate with evicted Lazuli female Pancake.^[29] Late in the second series, Yossarian left the Whiskers to become a full-time roving male.^[32] He has not appeared in the series since.

[edit] Shakespeare

Shakespeare, named after the famous playwright, was one of Flower's sons.^[3] Billed as "courageous" in the opening sequence of series one, he was bitten in the lower jaw and in the thigh by a puff adder in the first episode.^[4] He recovered, however, and continued to be a strong contributor to the Whiskers group.^[3] Near the end of series one, he was the lone babysitter protecting Flower's most recent pups when the Lazuli group found the burrow, and Shakespeare put himself between the pups and Big Si, the Lazuli's dominant male at the time.^[33] When the Whiskers returned and dispatched the Lazuli, the pups were alive but Shakespeare could not be found.^[34]

At the start of series two, Shakespeare was still missing and believed dead.^[29] Thomas Flower of the Kalahari Meerkat Project explained the lack of certainty by noting that "...meerkats are often killed defending pups, Shakespeare was a babysitter the day before and Lazuli were in the area. However it is equally possible that he was killed by a predator, dispersed to another group, or was killed by another group whilst trying to join them, we just weren't there on that particular day."^[35] More recent articles discussing Flower's death refer to Shakespeare's death and reiterate that his body has never been found.^[36]

[edit] Tosca

Tosca was one of Flower's oldest daughters, described as "rebellious" in the first series opening sequence.^[4] Her research name, given to her by the Kalahari Meerkat Project researchers, is actually Baddiel.^[3] In the first episode, Tosca showed signs of pregnancy.^[4] When the pups were born two episodes later, Flower declined to exercise her right to kill them and allowed them to be accepted into the family.^[37] Three episodes later, while the pups were only seven weeks old, Flower evicted Tosca from the Whiskers, forcing the new mother to leave her pups behind.^[15] When the Whiskers were temporarily split into two groups in the next episode, Tosca found the splinter group and took over leadership from her sister Daisy. Believing the split would be permanent, Tosca was then fitted with a radio collar by the project researchers.^[38] However, the two groups reunited, and after Flower resumed her role as dominate female of the group, she permanently and viciously evicted Tosca.^[39]

Tosca's attempts to rejoin the Whiskers after the separation from her mother were fiercely rebuffed.^[40] Tosca mated with roving male Carlos in the last episode of the first series, but he left her alone and made no motions to work on starting a new group with her.^[34] When the show returned for the second series, Tosca was missing. She is believed to have died during the harsh winter.^[29]

[edit] Daisy

Daisy is another of Flower's daughters and the first to be impregnated by roving Lazuli male Carlos.^[37] When the Whiskers were temporarily split into two groups after a goshawk attack in the middle of the series, Daisy assumed the role of dominant female of the splinter group, but lost the role when her evicted sister Tosca found the group and took control.^[38][39] When the splinter group rejoined the main Whiskers, Flower discovered Daisy's pregnancy but allowed her to remain in the group.^[39] Daisy gave birth in an empty burrow, and after Yossarian found her, he helped to carry her newborn pups to the real burrow. The next day, Flower initiated a burrow move. In order to remain with her family, Daisy left the pups behind to die in the abandoned burrow.^[17]

In a very rare event in meerkat society, Daisy was evicted from the Whiskers by her sister Mozart late in the second series. After Flower reasserted her dominance over the group, Flower allowed Daisy to return and permanently evicted Mozart.^[28] Daisy was the babysitter on duty during both a Commandoes attack on the burrow at the end of the second series, and a Zappa attack early in the third. In both cases, she was able to successfully protect the pups until the remaining Whiskers could return to help.^[18][41] Daisy was impregnated by a roving Zappa male early in the third series, but new dominant female Rocket Dog did not evict her.^[42] Daisy successfully gave birth to the litter in the last episode of the series.^[7]

[edit] Mitch

When the series first started, three-week old Mitch was taken from the burrow by his teenage siblings as a game, and then abandoned in the desert. His brother Shakespeare found him and safely returned him to the family.^[4] Later, he almost died after stealing a poisonous insect from one of the adults and eating it.^[15] As he grew into adulthood over the second and third series, Mitch was given the "hero" label once applied to the late Shakespeare. When Mitch was lost in Zappa territory with Sophie, Jogu, and three of Flower's pups early in the third series, he attempted to find the Whiskers group on his own so he could lead them back to the pups.^[6]

In the middle of the third series, he tried to help Flower's two pups, Ren and Stumpy, who were being neglected by the temporary Splinters group being led by Rocket Dog.^[43] However, Ren was killed by a bird-of-prey, and Mitch was eventually forced to abandon Stumpy and rejoin the family.^[42] Late in the series, Mitch found Axle, a pup abandoned during a failed raid attempt by the Zappa, and took him back to the Whiskers where – in an unexpected event within meerkat society – he was adopted into the family.^[19]

[edit] Rocket Dog

Rocket Dog is one of Flower's many daughters and would later became the dominant female of the Whiskers group.^[19] When the Whiskers group temporarily split into two groups during a drought and food shortage in the third series, Rocket Dog assumed the leadership of the splinter group.^[42] She mated with a roving Zappa male in the middle of the third series,^[42] but her pups died in a premature birth caused by the strain of her new-found leadership.^[44] When the splinter group was reunited with the Whiskers, Rocket Dog returned to being a subordinate female under her mother without any fuss.^[44] After Flower's death near the end of the series, Rocket Dog permanently assumed leadership of the entire Whiskers group, and moved the group to a new burrow.^[45] Wilson, a roving male from the Commandoes, attempted to mate with Rocket Dog, but was chased off by Zaphod, Flower's former partner and still dominant male.^[26] In the last episode of the third series, Maybelline rebelled against her sister's rule, but Rocket Dog was able to maintain leadership, causing Maybelline to leave the Whiskers and start her own group.^[7] After filming of the fourth series concluded, Rocket Dog was killed while crossing a road on April 28, 2008. Animal Planet plans to include a tribute to her at the end of the series.^[46][47]

[edit] Axle

Born in the third series, male pup Axle was abandoned by the Zappa during one of their unsuccessful attacks on the Whiskers burrow. Mitch found the pup and rather than kill the pup as one would normally expect, the Whiskers adopted him into the family.^[19] As he adjusted to his new family, Axle tended to follow Mitch around. Although the narration refers to Axle as a Zappa pup, the research number he was assigned by the Kalahari Meerkat Project indicates that he is actually from the research group the Young Ones, which is often used to film Zappa footage.^[48] Axle, along with his sister Rose, appear to have been named after the Guns 'n Roses front man Axl Rose.^[3]

[edit] Lazuli

Dominant female: Cazanna^[49]
Dominant male: JD^[29]

Formed in 1995, the Lazuli group is three years older than the Whiskers, with whom they regularly battle for territory. Before appearing on Meerkat Manor, the Lazuli were the focus of a thirty-minute 2001 National Geographic special television title Walking with Meerkats: Meerkat Madness.^[2] This programme, produced by Big Wave TV, documented the daily life of the Lazuli under the leadership of the group's first dominant couple, Bulgarian and Zyzyphus.^[50] Led by dominant male Big Si, the Lazulis had their first Meerkat Manor appearance in the second episode, where they lost their first fight with the Whiskers. This appearance also set a trend of Lazuli males seeking out Whiskers females, with the roving male Carlos being the first, and most frequent, visitor.^[37] In the middle of the first series, the Whiskers took over part of the Lazuli territory and later invaded a Lazuli burrow, nearly killing the Lazuli's pups.^[14][40]

In the second series, the death of Big Si made the Lazuli less of a threat to the Whiskers. The Lazuli males continued their roving ways, with males from the group regularly visiting Whiskers females. Some of the Whiskers male followed suit and attempted to make with Cazanna and take Big Si's place.^[29][30][31] The Lazuli faced new competition with the arrival of the Commandoes, who introduced themselves by invading a Lazuli burrow, killing a pup, and wounding the babysitter.^[49] In the third series, the Lazuli are barely seen or mentioned, except for the occasional visit to the Whiskers burrow by a roving male from the group.

It is unknown as to whether Meerkat Manor will continue to mention the Lazuli in the fourth series. Between the filming of the third and fourth series, however, the dominant female Cazanna died of disease, leaving the group under the leadership of one of her daughters. As Cazanna's son JD was already the dominant male, it leaves the group with a dominant couple that can not mate with one another.^[2] The Lazuli are the only one other group, besides the Whiskers, to appear in the Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins television film.^[51]

[edit] Cazanna

At the time the Lazuli first appeared in Meerkat Manor, Cazanna was the dominant female of the group. After the death of her partner Big Si between the first and second series, her son JD took over as dominant male. Without a dominant male she could mate with, Yossarian and various other roving males from the Whiskers made valiant attempts to mate with her, but none were successful, due to the diligent protection of her son and the other Lazuli males.^[29][30] Cazanna evicted her daughter Pancake, who was pregnant by Yossarian, but Cazanna allowed her to rejoin the family.^[49] After filming for series three concluded, Cazanna died from disease and her daughter assumed the leadership of the group.^[2]

[edit] Big Si

First introduced as "the biggest, meanest meerkat in the territory", Big Si was the dominant male of the Lazuli who regularly led the various war parties against the Whiskers.^[38] At the end of the first series, Big Si lead the attack against a Whiskers burrow where Shakespeare was the sole babysitter on duty. Though the Lazuli were forced to flee before they could kill the pups, the series producers and the project researchers believe Big Si killed Shakespeare during this attack, as Shakespeare was last seen putting himself between Big Si and the pups to protect them.^[33][34] Between the first and second series, Big Si contracted tuberculosis.^[29] While the researchers and camera crew normally do not interfere with the lives, or deaths, of the meerkats, they had to euthanise Big Si in order to prevent an outbreak that would have been devastating to the both the meerkat populations and the local livestock.^[11]

[edit] JD

JD is the son of Cazanna and Big Si. After his father's death between the first and second series, JD assumed the position of dominant male and handled chasing off roving males and leading fights. He could not, however, mate with his mother, leaving his leadership in peril from any roving male that can win Cazanna's acceptance.^[29] After Cazanna's death following the filming of the third series, JD's position remains insecure as the new dominant female is one of his sisters.^[2]

[edit] Commandoes

Dominant female: Nikita^[1]
Dominant male: None^[1]

Early in the second series of Meerkat Manor, a new group named the Commandoes infiltrated one of the Lazuli burrows and killed a pup.^[49] Led by the tough dominant pair Nikita and Hannibal, this twenty-four member-strong gang quickly became one of the Whiskers most dangerous rivals. Their size enabled them to stand up to the Whiskers where smaller rivals, such as the Lazuli, could not. Between the second and third series, the Commandoes defeated the Whiskers in a fight and took over the Whiskers former territory.^[5][52]

Though the Commandoes group had lost some of their adults through disease by the start of the third series, they remained formidable opponents.^[2] With their shift in territories, the Whiskers' only major altercation with the Commandoes came when a drought sent the Whiskers back to their old territory in desperation for water. The Whiskers were chased off, and the Commandoes held on to their new territory.^[44] On the other hand, their border neighbours of smaller sizes, the Zappa and Starsky groups, are easy targets for the Commandoes. When the Starsky sisters risked entering their territory in search of food and mates, the Commandoes attacked the trio and possibly killed De la Soul, who has not been seen again after the other two escaped.^[26] At the start of the forth series, the Commandoes successfully claim Whiskers territory and force the Whiskers to become a nomadic group.^[1]

Though there is a research group named the Commandos, the Commandoes group depicted in Meerkat Manor features the dominant couple and story of the Vivian research group, with only mob scenes of the Commandoes using footage of the real Commandos group.^[53] In the US broadcast of the series, the Commandoes' name is changed to the American spelling of Commandos, which is also the spelling used for the real Commandos group.^[24][53]

[edit] Nikita

The dominant female of the Commandoes, Nikita is as tough as her partner, and can be just as vicious.^[24] During the raid on the Lazuli burrow, Nikita aided in the killing of a Lazuli pup.^[49] She led the group in the killing of Mozart's newborn pups in the last episode of the second series, after Mozart had been permanently evicted from the Whiskers.^[18] At the start of the forth series, Nikita is shown without a mate after the death of Hannibal.^[1]

[edit] Hannibal

The one-eyed Hannibal is a "just plain mean bully no one wants to see,"^[5] and rivals Zaphod as one of the largest meerkats in the Kalahari.^[5][24] As dominant male of the Commandoes, Hannibal is a force to be reckoned with, showing no hesitation in confronting rival groups of meerkats.^[24] In addition to leading multiple attacks against the Whiskers, Lazuli, and Zappa, Hannibal is responsible for giving Carlos a face wound that would eventually kill him.^[32] In the first episode of series four, the narrator notes that Hannibal died during the winter.^[1]

[edit] Wilson

Wilson, a son of Hannibal and Nikita, is a roving male who attempts to mate with females from various other Meerkat Manor groups throughout the third series. He visited the Zappa burrows without success, and later tried to mate with new Whiskers dominant female Rocket Dog before Zaphod chased him off.^[25][54] Towards the end of the series, Wilson met Mozart, the last surviving member of the Starsky group. When an approaching brush fire separated them, he went back to her burrow in the morning only to find her dead from a predator attack.^[26]

[edit] Zappa

Dominant female: Punk^[55]
Dominant male: Houdini^[55]

Named after musician Frank Zappa, the Zappa group formed in 2001, but did not appear in Meerkat Manor until the third series when the Whiskers became their new neighbours.^[2][3][5] Billed in the opening credits as "the neighbours from hell," the fourteen-members-strong Zappa have multiple run-ins with the Whiskers throughout the series.^[24] Lead by dominant pair Lola and Frank, the Zappa have a quick fight with the Whiskers in the first episode of the third series, but are forced to flee from the much larger group.^[5] When the Whiskers invaded the Zappa territory in search of Flower's missing pups, they ended up confiscating a Zappa burrow, claiming the part of the land as their territory.^[6] The Zappa repeatedly tried to retake the stolen burrow, but all attempts ended in failure.^[19][41] In the middle of the series, while Lola was recovering from an injury, her sister Punk took over as dominant female. The same day, Frank was disposed by Houdini and forced out of the group.^[55] Punk proved to be a greater risk taker than Lola, and again lead the Zappa in a futile attack against the Whiskers.^[19][24] After Flower's death, the Zappa tried to commandeer a burrow that the Whiskers had just moved in, but the Zappa were again defeated and chased off.^[45]

While there is a group named the "Zappa" within the Kalahari Meerkat Project, the Zappa shown in Meerkat Manor are primarily filmed using footage from a second research group called the Young Ones.^[53] However, scenes of the dominant couple are from the real Zappa group, as are the stories told about group as a whole.^[2]

[edit] Lola

Lola, the dominant female of the Zappa at the beginning of the third series, regularly commandeered food from her subordinates.^[24][55] Lola disappeared from the group for two days after being bitten by a puff adder. After she struggled to make her way home, her younger sister Punk took advantage of her weakened state and took over as dominant female.^[55] Though Lola recovered from the snake bite, she continued to accept Punk as the new leader. When the Zappa later ran from a confrontation with the Whiskers, Lola left behind a pup she was carrying, Axle, who was adopted by the Whiskers.^[19] Zaphod once visited the Zappa burrow and almost mated with Lola, but was chased off by Houdini.^[25] Lola was instrumental in defending Punk's newborn pups during an attack by the newly formed Aztec group.^[7]

In the sixth episode of the third series, Meerkat Manor indicates that Lola has been the leader of the Zappa for three years. However, the Kalahari Meerkat Project records show that she was born in March 2005. This would make the narration inaccurate, as the third season was filmed between November 2006 through April 2007.^[11][48]

[edit] Frank

Like the Zappa group, Frank was named after Frank Zappa.^[3] Frank, an older male, was a formidable leader who showed no fear of leading his much smaller group against the Whiskers massive mob.^[24][41] After Punk took over the group, Houdini returned from a roving trip and challenged Frank for dominance in a vicious fight. Unable to defeat the younger meerkat, Frank was deposed and forced into exile.^[55] He has not been seen in the series since.

[edit] Punk

Punk is Lola's littermate, and the current dominant female of the group as of the end of the third series.^[48] More aggressive than her sister, Punk grew increasing rebellious under Lola's leadership. When Lola was weakened by a snake bite, Punk took over as dominant female. Later that day, when Houdini returned to the group and defeated dominant male Frank, Punk quickly accepted him as her new partner.^[55]

During the third series, Punk regularly led the Zappa into grab-and-go foraging runs into the Whiskers territory, but the smaller size of the group forced them to flee from direct confrontations.^[19] Towards the end of the series, a pregnant Punk started stealing food form her subordinates just as her sister once did.^[25] The Zappa came under attack from the newly formed Aztec group in the last episode of the series, but were able to escape. Punk's pups were saved through the efforts of Lola.^[7]

[edit] Houdini

Named after the magician, Houdini is Frank's younger brother. After Carlos settled down, Houdini took over the role of Kalahari Casanova and troublemaker. He managed to mate with Flower, the dominant female of the Whiskers, before her partner Zaphod noticed his presence and chased him off.^[32] He also successfully mated with Maybelline, Flower's daughter, in the middle of the third series.^[42] The moment he returned to the Zappa after his extended roving trip, Houdini attacked Frank and deposed him.^[55] Taking over as dominant male of the group, Houdini began to protect the Zappa females from the efforts of the now mate-less Zaphod and from Commandoes rover Wilson.^[25]

[edit] Starsky

The Starsky was a small group of seven meerkats that formed between the filming of the second and third series. The group first appeared in the second episode of the third series. Mozart and Kinkajou, two of three evicted Whiskers sisters in the group, competed for the position of dominant female, while Carlos, the former roving male from the Lazuli, was secure in his position as dominant male.^[6] The group struggled to survive from the start. They were plagued with problems, such as Carlos having a fatal face injury, keeping litters alive, and their small territory having little food.^[6][41][56] After Carlos died from an infection in his wound, the remaining meerkats began dying from starvation, disease, and predation. By the eleventh episode of the third series, only the three sisters, Kinkajou, Mozart, and De la Soul, remained. The last of the group, Mozart, was killed by a jackal in April 2007, bringing the short life of the Starsky group to an end.^[26][56]

[edit] Mozart

A daughter of Flower, Mozart was originally a member of the Whiskers group. Referred to as "the caring" one in the first series credits, Mozart was always ready to lend a helping hand for the family.^[4][24] When her littermate Shakespeare was bitten by a puff adder in the first episode, she stayed at his side and kept him company until he recovered.^[37] Mozart was temporarily exiled from the Whiskers group several times for having pups. Her first eviction came part way through the first series and lasted only one episode.^[14][15] Her second eviction in the next series was ended by her miscarrying.^[16][52] Near the end of the second series, Mozart again became pregnant, and then made the unusual move of evicting her sister Daisy from the Whiskers.^[28] Flower led the Whiskers to a new home and left Mozart alone at the burrows with her newborn pups, effectively evicting her.^[57] The Commandoes killed Mozart's pups in the next episode while Mozart was on the search for food.^[18]

When Mozart returned in the third series, she competed with her sister Kinkajou, also evicted from the Whiskers, for leadership of a new group, the Starsky, which she had founded with roving male Carlos.^[6] Kinkajou eventually took over as dominant female, asserting her dominance by killing Mozart's newborn pups.^[41] Carlos' death left the Starsky females without a mate or a potential for new pups, and the remaining members of the group died. Mozart at last lost her sisters in the eleventh episode. Shortly after, Mozart met a roving Commandoes male, Wilson, who seemed primed to help her revive the group, but Mozart was killed outside of her burrow by a jackal the next day.^[26][56]

Mozart's death, having come less than a month after the death of her mother, was reported in national newspapers, including the New York Times and the Denver Post. Saddened fans posted various tributes online, including poems, songs, and videos.^[58][59]

[edit] Carlos

Carlos, whose research name was JD, made regular appearances in the series starting with the second episode.^[37][56] A rather amorous fellow who was billed as the Kalahari's "Casanova",^[24][34] he impregnated at least three Whiskers females during the first series including Daisy, Mozart, Tosca, and Kinkajou.^{[5][15][24][34][37]} Despite his roving ways, the show producers referred to him as Mozart's "long-time love" due to their frequent matings.^[24]

In the third series, Carlos put aside his roving ways and became the dominant male of the Starsky, with both Kinkajou and Mozart pregnant with his pups.^[6] Carlos was bitten in the face during a fight with Commandoes dominant male, Hannibal. An infection set into the wound, eventually killing Carlos and leaving the Starsky without a dominant male.^[32]

[edit] Kinkajou

Kinkajou was the younger half-sister of Mozart and appeared sporadically throughout the programme. In the first series, a teenage Kinkajou took her younger brother Mitch from the burrow and left him alone in the desert after she got bored with watching him.^[4] She became a more reliable babysitter as she grew older, but followed in her mother Flower's footsteps with an unauthorised pregnancy in the second series.^[60] As Kinkajou was evicted between the second and third series, it remains unanswered how she was reunited with her sisters Mozart and De la Soul.^[5]

At the start of the third series, Kinkajou was pregnant by Carlos and determined to become the dominant female of the group. She started her quest for leadership by leading the group on their foraging trips and then initiating a burrow move. As a final assertion of dominance, she demonstrated her right to be the only female in the group with pups by killing Mozart's newborn pups.^[41] She held her position as dominant female until the group, down to only the three sisters, had a disastrous run-in with the Commandoes near the end of the series. After fleeing for their lives, only Kinkajou and Mozart remained. They found a burrow for the night during a storm, but weakened from starvation, Kinkajou died in her sleep.^[54][56]

[edit] Aztecs

Dominant female: Maybelline^[1]
Dominant male: None

The Aztecs are a small group of seven adult meerkats that was formed by Maybelline in the final episode of the third series when she broke away from the Whiskers.^[7] In the fourth series, the group is shown to now be a regular rival of the Whiskers.^[61]

[edit] Maybelline

Rocket Dog's sister, Maybelline, is one of three Whiskers females to be impregnated by roving Zappa males while they are part of a temporarily splinter group led by Rocket Dog.^[42] Maybelline gave birth just before Flower's death, and as Flower had no litter of her own at the time, the Kalahari Meerkat Project believes it was Maybelline's newborn pups that Flower was protecting when she was killed by a snake.^[19][48] When Rocket Dog initiated a burrow move, Maybelline at first refused to move her young pups but later gave in. When her pups were older, Maybelline rebelled against Rocket Dog's leadership. Unable to depose her sister, Maybelline left the Whiskers with her pups and a couple of adults at the end of the third series to form a new group, the Aztecs.^[19]

[edit] Minor groups

[edit] Gattaca

The Gattaca, named after the 1997 SciFi movie, was a minor group of approximately ten members that appeared briefly in the first series.^[56] The small group first appeared in episode seven when the Whiskers accidentally crossed over into their territory. The meeting ended without incident as the Whiskers willingly returned to their own land.^[38] Risca, a former dominant female of the Whiskers, led the Gattaca.^[56] Acting as minor rivals of the Whiskers, the Gattaca received little story attention until they quietly disappeared from the show before the end of the series. In reality, the group died out from disease and predation.^[56]

[edit] See also

• List of Meerkat Manor episodes

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Animal Planet US: Meet the Meerkats