Hi Athena,

Thank you so very much for sharing your wonderful experience with us. Very glad to hear you are feeling better.

I just could not imagine anyone being so directly involved with these beautiful little Meerkats and not trying to save Flower. Thank you for letting us know they did try. Knowing that somehow eases the pain a little. I have been worried about Zaphod and you have quelled my fears, at least so far.

Unfortunately, my chance of going to the KMP are slim to none. Your descriptions of the goings on at KMP are wonderful. I now have a better understanding of the daily routine of the Meerkats, Researchers and Film Crew. Thank you for bringing me a little closer to them.

In your posts you have mentioned doing something for the KMP. I would be interested in helping. If anything comes of this I would like to be informed and would be more than willing to lend a hand.

There is something that I seem to have missed. Who is Fluffernutter? Somewhere along the line this little guy has slipped by me.

Oh, by the way, I am also from Michigan.

Athena, Thank you again.

Hi Athena,

Thanks so much for your info about Flower. Whether her collar was removed or not was a BIG issue for many people and you have eased people's minds more than you can imagine. I actually watched the reruns of that show several times even though it was heart-wrenching, with my nose practically pressed to the tv screen so I could see if the collar was restricting or not.

About KMP contributions: several days before Journey's End aired, I spent several hours going to every single page on their website with my pokey dial-up connection to see if I could find any mention of how to make a donation. I couldn't find anything or even an email contact address to write them to get that info. Had I found anything, I was going to post it and suggest people make a donation to them in memory of Flower. If you or anyone else has an address for them, that info would be greatly appreciated. I'm actually kind of surprised they don't have this info posted on their website. In my experience, major studies like this could always use more money! Or maybe they are already flush with cash (LOL).

I'm still wondering about the mortality rate for meerkats bitten by Cape Cobras. I tried to find this info on the web but was not successful. Also didn't realize that they actually eat snakes.

Wish I could afford to go to Africa to see the meerkats myself. If I could, I'd be there in a hearbeat! Guess I'll just have to keep reading about the experiences of others and be satisfied with the bird and plant surveys I do where I live...Oh, I just thought of another question: how high are the fences you had to climb? Thanks!

Yo jt

I will clarify something. At first I did not think Len and Squiggy were Flower's pups. What I said was Suggs and Busta littere were her last living pups.

Flower indeed had 2 very small pups on 20 Nov 2006. They were not named. I suppose this is Len and Squiggy (or Ren and Stumpy) in MM. On 12 Dec they disappeared while foraging with Rocket's group.

So this is indeed a true storyline.

Pronker

From your statement:

" ... before they go in to sleep. It's always at dark. Then, we stay an additional 10 minutes just to insure that the DF doesn't decide to change burrows."

I didn't think meerkats left their burrow after dark. Sorry, but i am confused. As for the episode Journey's End, it is actually a very beautiful episode with on 2 very upsetting pictures. If you leave the room as soon as Flower goes down into the burrow and wait about 1 minute and then return, it is a very good episode showing the Whiskers doing so many brave, clever, cute incredible and loving things.

I agree with ballet...the first 25 minutes of the episode are great. The adoption of precious baby Axel is really worth seeing. I don't blame ya for not wanting to watch though...

Hi Athena,
It's so great to read of your journey. Thanks for answering our questions too!

I'm a little confused as to what happened in the burrow AFTER Flower got bitten...did the snake leave after that? Did the babysitters/pups that were deep inside get out? We read that the snake was not killed, but I think it's a little unclear about the rest. Can you clarify that? If the DF dies, do her daughters feed their little pup siblings till they get old enough to forage? Or are they left "to fate" since they would actually be further competition for the vacant top DF spot?

Flower left many sons and daughters behind, but it would be nice if some of her last litter survived.

Also, was Axl still with the Whiskers when you were there?

Thanks again for your answers!

Meeret,

I noticed you said they had altered the ending of Journey's End on the Tuesday episode. But when I saw it on Tuesday it was the same as on Friday and Saturday, and Monday.

No difference. They didn't change anything.

Athena, welcome back! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. It was great for me to hear from you that the researchers did indeed try to help Flower, that brings a measure of comfort of sorts. Thank you very much for sharing that.

But mostly welcome back! What an incredible experience! Awesome!

And I forgot my questions: The Baker boy, can you tell us about him? How big is he now, does he play one of the Mitches, what does he do, is he a helper, or is he a leader?

Have you seen Zarathustra? Does he behave like the boss? How is his interaction with Zaphod?

Thanks!

Dear Meerkatkate, Thx for your message re:Tuesday's show. Perhaps my husband left the TV or changed the channel before the end.
Wishful thinking they would remove those scenes! I have watched it online, but turn it off after Axel. That was the best part.

Dear Athena, Thank you and God bless you for the info about Flowers final hours. You have certainly made me and a whole lot of other people, especially us newbies, feel a lot better about what happened. I'm surprised the people at KMP didn't come out and say "Hey, we were very upset about Flowers situation and did all we could for her." That might have stopped some of these wild ideas about conspiracies and whatnot. Anyway, thank you again for your posting and I'm looking forward to your future entries. Dave in GA.

Athena thaks so much for the info on Flower. My worst fears were that she suffered and no one tried to help her. I'm a med tech and have worked in hospitals for 20 years. Being a nurse you may understand that it's sad when you lose a patient when everyone did everything they could to save that person but to not even try is unthinkable. You have lifted a great weight from my shoulders. I am still interested to know what they are doing about the TB situation. Do they think they can stop the spread to other groups. Thanks again and by the way i'm from Michigan too Ann Arbor area. Maybe all us Michiganians should meet up at the Toledo Zoo. You too Ontario.

No one it seems, me included, can get an answer to this for some reason. Did Flower give birth the day she died or not? Two days before she died? Three?
I know MM takes liberties with storylines but she was clearly pregnant just before she died. Along with two sisters who were steering clear of her.
Or did she give birth months before she died?
What it comes down to is, did she NOT give birth and died while pregnant still?, which I doubt or did she really give birth months/weeks before she died?
I have no idea why no one seems to have answer to this simple question. Ahhh!

Thanks Athena for all the new info. I'm learning so much from your trip!
I didn't realize that meerkats ate snakes, but I guess that would make a nice big meal.
Also didn't know that scent marking ( even our Eau de Whiskers!) smelled that bad, that's so funny

My questions:
1. Were any pups born while you were there, or since August? There are so few pups listed on the life histories in 2007.
2. Did you witness any meerkats dying? That would be the hardest thing to deal with there for me.

Thanks for everything! You've brought a ray of sunshine to our burrow just when we needed it most.

Hi Athena:

I know that you have a gagillion questions to answer and that I am a newbie who has not shared the last year or so with you, but already I respect you so much and value all that you have to say and live vicariously through you as you tell of your amazing expedietion.

I am slated to go to KMP next September, I have gotten all of my information from earthwatch.org but have a couple of random questions for you.

1. did you fly into Johannasburg or Cape Town & from there did you fly into Upington or take that scary bus ride that I've heard about?

2. Did you have to find lodging before & after your KMP 2 weeks? If so approx how much did you spend?

3. After adding up all of my expenses thus far, I feel like I am in the range of $8000-$10,000, does that sound about right and is that truly enough?

4. Did your main flight have any layovers & how long total was your flight? I just can't imagine being on a flight that long without ending up with a DVT!!! (LOL!) Lots of moving around & stretching I'm sure.

5. Any reccommended reading to prepare myself for the trip?

Thank you for your time, I really appreciate it

Athena, could you please tell me about Attila? He is my favorite living meerkat. Possibly my overall favorite if I could see more of him. How big is he? What does he look like? Do you think he is a possible Mitch stand in? How did he act? Is he roving yet? PLEASE ANSWER!!!

Attila

Hi Shadilu,
I'm heading there in May 2008 and I am dealing with some of the same issues. And all of the same questions. The flights I'm looking at are from Pittsburgh to DC to Johannasburg. A stay over, probably at a B&B, then a flight the next morning to Upington. And the total hours range anywhere from 19hours to 40. (Some of that is the layover in Johannasburg.) I haven't been able to stop smiling for weeks!
Monica

BTW, Athena Baker is Attila, just in case.

Attila

[Did Flower give birth the day she died or not?...What it comes down to is, did she NOT give birth and died while pregnant still?...I have no idea why no one seems to have answer to this simple question. Ahhh![/QUOTE]

Jennyjen43,
Actually this question has been answered. If you go to the Spoiler Forum and click on "Flower's Last Litter (how many?)" you will see that Pronker answered this question.

HI, yes i am a new one on the forums, but have watched MM since the show first started.

I do have a couple of questions and if it has already been asked, please forgive me. i only get to
check this site when i'm at work and that's hard to do.

What happened to the babysitters and the other
pups that were in the burrow?

is the meerkat study a continuous one or will it
ever end?
seems like there is only so much a person can learn about any animal.

thanks for answering
tammy

quote:

Originally posted by k9dogs:
Hi Shadilu,
I'm heading there in May 2008 and I am dealing with some of the same issues. And all of the same questions. The flights I'm looking at are from Pittsburgh to DC to Johannasburg. A stay over, probably at a B&B, then a flight the next morning to Upington. And the total hours range anywhere from 19hours to 40. (Some of that is the layover in Johannasburg.) I haven't been able to stop smiling for weeks!
Monica

Hey Monica:

I know...I am so excited!! Once I made the decision to go I knew that there was nothing that was going to stop me! Do you agree that the total cost is going to be somewhere between $8000-$10,000? How much are flights looking for you to Johannasburg & Upington? So far I am getting about $1600 from Washington, DC to Johannasburg (round trip) and about $500 round trip from Johannasburg to Upington.

have you gotten an itenerary yet as to when you will rendevouz with the group?

I would love to go earlier in the year, but am not sure if I can raise the funds by then, it would be great to go at the same time with someone from the group to share the experience with!!

Kara

I am a newbie.. how did you get to go to africa and see these wonderful creatures.

Hi Athena,
Thank you so much for letting everyone know how the camera crew and researchers feel about all the Meerkats. I knew how much they loved all of them and wouldn't do anything to hurt any of them.
I would like to know about Flowers last litter of pups, they only showed Liz but none of the others. Also, they didn't mention any of them in the last show, just the seven new pups pf her daughters.
I am also a Mozart fan, I hope she made it through the winter. Her half sister is very much like Flower.
Anyway I love all the Meerkats and will send money if need be to to help the Meerkats keep on living their lives in peace.
Thank you so much for giving us so much more information about the Meerkats.

Susan