My favorite foot tall creatures of the Kalahari

           What happens when you mix soap opera-like drama, foot tall animals called meerkats, the Kalahari desert in Africa, and the Animal Planet crew?  You get an awesome show called Meerkat Manor. This show aired on the Animal Planet channel from 2005 to 2008.  "Meetkar Manor depicts the real life and death events that take place in the Whiskers meerkat family," according to the show opener.  The group of meerkats has been part of an ongoing study by researches, professors, students, graduates, and volunteers of Cambridge University. 

            While the Whiskers family is followed the most throughout the show other groups of meerkats, who act communally for the benefit of the groups in which they live, also appear in the show. These groups are typically led by a dominant female and male, who maintain almost exclusive rights to have offspring. The Whiskers family was chosen because of its matriarch Flower, an unusually successful dominant female.

           The other animals in neighboring groups were highlighted in each series. In the first series, a group called the Lazuli were shown frequently in competition with the Whiskers family, and the opening credits referred to them as the "neighbors from hell". Although their dominant male Big Si died between series, the Lazuli appeared in the second series, mostly as a source of roving males. Another group called the Commandos, led by a one-eyed male named Hannibal, introduced themselves by attacking the Lazuli burrow, killing a pup and badly wounding the babysitting adult. The Commandos became the new major rivals in the area, killing the pups of evicted Whiskers female Mozart and taking over some of the Whiskers' territory.

Here is a little preview:





          One of the many reasons I loved the show is because it was really quite different from many of the other shows on Animal Planet.  You can learn about meerkats while being entertained by the various stories taking place.  After a while you may find yourself attached to certain meerkats such as Flower, Mozart, Shakespeare, or Zaphod.  The music for the most part has a soothing happy go lucky feel until there is danger, sadness, or fighting taking place.  I was pretty much drawn in right away and I truly wish Animal Planet would bring back this truly amazing show.  

If you would like to get a hold of this series try Amazon or Netflix

Seasons 1 - 3 is narrated by Sean Astin
Season 4 is narrated by Stockard Channing
The Meerkat Manor movie is narrated by Whoopi Goldberg
"The Meerkats"* is narrated by Paul Newman

*this is not a story about the Whiskers family