everyone, wild meerkats had moved into the rserve, they taken over most of the groups, the young ones two dominants are gone, asterix went missing and alexander was later found dead, the whisker Hawkeye has made a group with a wild male, i can't watch meerkat manor any more. the whiskers have only 16 meerkats.

Hi Cazanna,

I agree, life is changing fast for our beloved Kalahari meerkats, and change is always hard to accept. We know all too well that 2007 was an awful year due to drought and disease. The drought dropped the birth rate and all-important pup survival rate down to almost nothing. Hunger and lower group size reduced the number of sentinels to watch for predators, and stress made them more vulnerable to disease (the dreaded TB.) That's just a few of the factors working against them, poor babies. It has been truly heartbreaking to watch the devastation, including the loss of several entire mobs and many of our favorite meerkats. Of course we continue to mourn their loss. Those precious little spirits had no idea how dearly they are loved throughout the world.

After all this bad news, I'm thankful there is finally some good news. Rains have been plentiful lately (prayers answered!), and the new Life History reports show pregnant females all over the place. We know that plentiful pups are critical to rebuild group sizes. Rocket Dog has apparently had two healthy pups and is pregnant again -- Woo Hoo! Spunky Punk Zappa has also managed to have two surviving pups in her first successful litter -- cause for celebration. More pregnancies mean more evictions in the short run, which I hate but now understand due to the very real danger of infanticide. I try to remind myself that most subordinate females will rejoin their families a few days after the DF's litter is born, and the pups will have wonderful babysitters.

I'm excited that Zarathustra and Hawkeye/Rocky are new dominants, ready to carry on the mighty Whiskers genes! That makes at least 4 groups with Whiskers leaders: W, AZ, CD (what a coup for Zara!) and BB. Awesome! MM should have lots of interesting storylines to show us in S4.

After tough times like these, an influx of wild males can be a good thing. Let's hope they strengthen the gene pool. A new DM often means expulsion of natal males, which also reduces group size in the short run. There are plentiful roving coalitions now (some of which have left the monitored area ), so Rocket Dog has her pick of eligible mates. Choose a strong, healthy one, sweetie! Also, more new groups may form from the many evicted females and roving males.

I dearly love the Whiskers and they will always have a special place in my heart, but I'm rooting for ALL of the kats including the wild ones. The Kalahari meerkats have successfully rebuilt themselves after hard times in the past, and I think that's what we're seeing now. The TB danger terrifies me, but I am choosing to focus on the positive with hope in my heart.

Best Wishes to all!

hi cazanna,i no,its soooooooooooooooooooo sad!!

did u no that Whiskers r down 2 16 members,WITH pups??

Yipes! Hope they survive!

Let's hope that improved foraging conditions and the abundance of non-natal males will allow DF's like Rocket Dog, Punk, and Maybelline to add to their numbers.

I also hope that given the reduction in group numbers, the DF's will allow some of the subordinate females' pups to live. After all, Flower accepted Tosca's and Mozart's pups into the Whiskers so the possibility does exist.

Hi new manor fan,

I'm with you. That's a good point about Flower allowing several of her daughters' litters to live. It worked out well because the mob was large enough and food plentiful enough (unlike during the drought in MM S3) that the extra pups could be supported. Assuming there are enough sentinels and babysitters AND the food supply remains decent, this would be a great way to quickly rebuild group size. Sounds good to me.

The challenge is protecting the pups from infanticide. Choosing the right babysitters seems a big step in the right direction, but so far we haven't seen much/any supervision of this. Babysitters seem to self-select, which can be downright dangerous -- think of MM S1 with nervous, burrow-moving Youssy and various too-young-and-easily-bored juveniles (including a young Kinkajou and Rocket Dog!) who run off and leave forgotten pups.

Anyway, I also hope the current DFs follow Flower's example, for everyone's sake.

Have a great weekend, burrow mates!

I think in some cases the reduced numbers is a good thing. I mean 50 meerkats in one group foraging in the same place. That's not good. I believe Maybelline did Rocket Dog and herself a big favor when she left and formed the Azetcs with some of the other Whiskers. If Maybelline and the other females of the Aztecs had been evicted, they would probably have suffered the same fate as Tosca and Mozart. This way everybody stands a chance.

I agree about the possible benefits of reduced numbers. I still remember that episode from Season 3 where the 40+ Whiskers were stuffed inside their burrough. Poor creatures!

sigh...