I felt I had to say something. I can not imagine what it was like for the film crew to go through what we all went through in losing Flower. I commend you all for not stepping in to the situation and "doing something" about Flower's unfortunate passing. I would have lost all respect for the Animal Planet and it's Producers had you changed the natural order of things. However, I cannot say I did not cry my eyes out with my family and that we wished the outcome could have been different. Thank you for keeping your programming honest. Thank you for showing what really happens out in the wild and not changing things. Most of all, please accept my family's condolences, we went through all of this in our short little view of the event, I cannot imagine what you had to go through over the entire time she was leaving us. Have heart, we all are a little better for knowing Flower and her family. I know that may sound corny but there has been severral occassions where my little one have learned something from this wonderful show. Please keep Meerkat Manor coming and we will keep watching.

I could not have said it better myself!

This "don't interfere" stuff is crazy. Humans constantly interfere with nature. We almost killed off the buffalo. Give me a break! Would it have hurt to have given this wonderful animal a peaceful death--would it have changed the scheme of things if a lost pup had been taken back home or if those starving were given food?

If as human beings we see another human being in need of help, it is a moral obligation for us to help them. It is the same with animals. If we SEE that they need help, we should give it to them. I wouldn't stop a lion hunt or even an eagle from coming down on a pup, because they need to eat too, but I would have given Carlos an antibiotic (humans used to die alot from infections,too--was that "nature"---if we "let nature take it's course", then WE shouldn't use antibiotics either.) I would have picked up those pups and took them home, and I would have fed hungry meerkats. I would NOT have watched those animals suffer.

That is inhumane and wrong. And it's something Michael Vick would do. It seems to me that the lessons any "little one" should be learning should come from the meerkats, not from the people who have exploited these animals and gave them NOTHING. Flower's last acts were humane--she allowed a lost pup from a rival gang to stay and then she went in to protect her babies--yet she wasn't allowed a humane death--she wasn't even allowed to be remembered as the beautiful animal she was...because forever I'll remember her lovely face swollen and distorted and her writhing in pain.

The Michael Vick reference is a little old and I believe there is a difference between fighting dogs to the death for fun and filming what is first and foremost a RESEARCH PROJECT! not a television show, Meerkat Manor is simply a televised portion of Cambridge University's RESEARCH PROJECT that happens to be a field study, which doesn't tolerate ANY outside interference. If the film crew would have done something to save her, I'd be happy. (yay) but then several years of research would no longer be scientifically reliable. Stop it, you are probably making it worse for those who cared for Flower most and you sound ridiculous.

With the powers of editing do you really think ALL you see is real and nothing was interferred with?? come on now
If it was for 'research only' they should not be handling the meerkats nor give them treats...
Only handle to put tracking devices on and leave them alone

Here here pbarstmr! And i agree with willownightwolfanagi, I could not have said it better. To those who don't understand what she wrote, check out the post entitled PLEASE READ - especially to those crying why didn't they medicate. And about not treating and handeling the meerkats...it it not better to give them a little treat so that they step on the scale willingly, or should they be constantly shooting them with tranqualizers. They are getting valuable information for their research from the cooperative little meerkats without causing any harm to the delicate balance that governs nature.

The fact that someone is referencing Michael Vick and Meerkat Manor in the same sentencing is crazy. The people who think this show exploits the meerkats, then you should stop watching the show. Read crazyizzy, she explains it well in PLEASE READ. obviously the animal rights activists was out and they want there time on the soap box. Don' jump on their bandwagon please. The staff for this show are doing the right thing. And while we will miss Flower, it angers me now to see the activists want to put blame where the only one to blame is "MOTHER NATURE". There is no one to blame and no one is at fault.

God bless you for the immense amount of work you have done in presenting to us the TRUE way of life for these remarkable creatures. Thank you for not interfering in the natural order of their lives. I have come to love them and cannot imagine how heartbreaking the deaths of the individual meerkats must be for all of you who are part of their lives every day; especially Flower. Condolences from my entire family to each of you. Stay the course! His Seraphim

I know it's hard for you guys not to have just pulled flower and saved her. No it's not a micheal vick thing, it's a nature thing. Although it was hard, very hard to see flower looking like that, and I am as hard as it comes, but I knew it was nature. No I would not have let that snake go, but it's name says it all. (SNAKE). My prayers go out to the film crew that painfully watched as flower died. I am sure they are still weeping as I am. NO IT'S NOT ANIMAL CRUELTY, IT'S NATURE! To the film crew, I am terribly sorry and please keep filming. You have made a meerkat manor fan out of me. Granted it may be a week or so before I watch it again, simply because of flower's dimise and I just can't take it truly. I know there are much more serious things in life like bills, etc, but flower was like a family member to me. I even got my fiance' watching meerkat manor! And that's a miracle within itself. Again to the film crew, you did the right thing. HANG IN THERE!

Consider the following....
1. the crew filming this show spends all day every day in blistering heat
2. imagine the postions they have to get into to get the shots we see on the show - for every 1/2 hour show I bet that are hours or even days worth of film
3. these people care about animals - especially meerkats
4. I would bet that no one is more unhappy about Flower than the people who knew her intimately. Can you imagine what that must be like? Yet they keep filming.
5. I keep remembering an old movies I saw when I was a kid called "Brian's Song" They had a quote in there that we all should remember. "Don't remember how "flower" died, remember how she lived, how she did live!

I will never forget the lessons this 1' dynamo taught me. Live in the moment, love your family, be kind when you can (remember axle) protect them with all your heart and soul, and do what needs to be done. Flower was all these things. Celerbrate her life, not her death!

pbarstmr you said it well, and cazzyizzy and grameerkat and afreeman1 and wildweasel7648, and all of the others with similar comments, THANK YOU!

The collars are necessary as we can all see meerkats t - r - a - v - e - l and change burrows, and how can you conduct research if you don't know where they are?? The weighing is necessary (repeat read if you didn't understand) to know how the meerkats are faring with the different seasonal changes BECAUSE meerkats have a very fast metabolism - what goes in one end will be coming out the other within 3-5 hours (I believe that was indicated in the online chat immed. after the show), and weight changes can happen very rapidly! My ferrets are much the same way - in, out, 3-5 hours, lotsa poop, but they can get sick from not eating very quickly. The researchers have to stay on top of that to know which 'kat is not eating, and maybe figure out why... it's called 'research'.

Your comments are so down-to-earth, thank you for that! Please sign Flower's Condolence list (separate post) if you haven't already - I will print it out & send it to AP later to let them know how many of us worldwide have been saddened by Flower's death... thanks....
Jane :```(((

Gaia whenever Meerkat Manor comes on you can see it shows the life and death of ALL meerkat's within the Whiskers family so they had to show Flowers death, just like the other's but it is sad that she is gone. and yeah I know it's a human instinct to help something.

Flower lived passionately, died valiantly and savored EVERY moment of her life. Nothing was ever done half-heartedly. Flower knew she only had a limited time in that harsh, unforgiving desert environment and made every moment of every day count for something!! In her passing, she leaves a wonderful legacy and will continue to be a portrait of courage...Bravo Flower!!!

To the 'film crew', my sincere condolences for 'your' loss of wise, compationate and courageous 'Flower'. In the true and full meaning of the word... Flower was a devoted 'warrior' and I will miss her...and I will remember her.

Thankyou for your work....with your 'choices' at hand, it must have been very very difficult for you.

It's so easy to start pointing fingers and placing blame when you are hurt and angry. The truth is, even though Flower was one of my favorites, she made me angry many times with the eviction of her daughters. She made them leave, knowing that they would be vulnerable all alone out there, and most likely, they'd be killed. Remember Tosca? When the gang left squiggy out in the desert to die because his foot was deformed and he couldn't keep up, that made me angry and hurt too. They(the meerkats)knew that a predator would kill him and he'd be eaten alive and die a horrible death. It's nature. It's the way things are done whether we like it or not. It's the way it's meant to be and interference is playing God. Just accept the fact that it doesn't feel good. That it hurts like heck. Don't go blaming people for showing you the truth of how it all works.

"Don't remember how "flower" died, remember how she lived, how she did live!

I think that said it all!!!

I have some new thoughts. With the collars on the leader meerkats, could that have had anything to do with Flower not being able to back away faster from the Cobra? Those dens are very small and the collar could have interferred with Flower and caused her death. Wasn't there any other way to identify the leaders besides using the collars? In the wild they do not have any of these devices, which would hinder them from fighting better. Just a thought!

I want to thank others for including their condlences and thoughts for the Meerkat Film Crew. We (my family and I) are still quite saddened by what happened to Flower and we only wanted to acknowledge the feelings of those who are closer to Meerkat Manor and all that it represents and to let them know that my family and I were thinking of them in this time of great loss. I hope that they are able to see the heart felt additions to this topic from those of us who appreciate what they do day in and day out to bring us a wonderful television view of the Meerkats and their life in the desert, thank you.

My heart goes out to the film crew. They must have wanted to help dear Flower, but when doing research unless there is a very good reason for putting a animal down (Rabies, TB, and other deaseses that can be passed to humans), they knew they couldn't stop what was happening.

Also when setting up the cameras that are stationary, no one may have been there when the snake arrived. No one may have seen what happened until it was too late.

When they saw what happened they probably felt what we the viewers at home were feeling. Total helplessness and wanting to help Flower.

As I said my heart goes out to them, and I applaude them for showing us these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat. Without the film crew and researchers we wouldn't know much about these beautiful creatures.

I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the researchers and film crew so intimately involved with Flower and the Whiskers family.

The loss of Flower is heartbreaking for the viewers. Even though for the crew it has been months, I couldn't help but think of how devastating it must have been for them to be unable to step in. I have no doubt it was very sad, very painful, and very frustrating to watch this unfold before their eyes; we had the luxury of film editing while they did not. I am certain everyone involved struggled with the difficulty of what they saw and how it played on their hearts. I am certain many tears were shed. My heart goes out to the remarkable individuals who bring us this beautiful program. Thank you for all you do, and I extend my sincere sympathy as I believe was the original intention of pbarstmr.

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This had to be one of the most difficult "secrets" ever kept by a film crew. Last night's episode was filmed January 27, 2007. Imagine their heartbreak and no one to share it with. While part of me is silently screaming "why", I know there was nothing they could do for Flower when she finally emerged from the burrow. I am glad to know they buried her and hope they have done the same for the others lost to the ravages of the Kalahari.

I thank the film crew for the final hours of Flower's life. This episode only reinerated Flower's strong leadership, her love for her family and her kindness toward 1 little pup (Axle). The end was difficult to watch but if this were truly a scripted, money making gimmick, wouldn't they have exploited her death more. We could have been shown her slow death but the editors were kind to us and instead showed us another day of her wonderful life and for that I thank them. As stated by another Meerkat Lover, we should celebrate the way she lived.

Another member (please forgive my lack of names because I have just read many commentaries) stated that they should have stepped in to help. We would do it for a fellow human being, why not Flower. Since when do humans help humans, does this person not see the homeless living on the streets?; the runaways (children)? We could learn alot from all of our 4 legged friends, but of course we soooo much more advanced then they (right?).

My condolences to the film crew who are closer to these little creatures then any of us watching out TVs each week can ever hope to be.

The first thought that entered my mind was : The crew must be devastated.

We watched Flower every week, but they actually spent time with her. How horrible to have to stand by and do nothing. However, if they would of saved her, I would of stopped watching the show. How many weeks go by when we see "the kids" come and go? Thanks for keeping the show honest.

We mourn the loss of our tiny meerkat, Flower. It was totally unexpected. However, we must be careful not to humanize her or any of the meerkats because they are animals in the wild. Neither can we compare our care of an injured
human to that of a wild animal. There are significant differences in the laws that govern the treatment of injured people and the laws of nature that govern the lives and deaths of wild animals. To blame anyone for not helping Flower is a product of our emotions for a living creature in crisis. It is natural for us to have wanted someone to have helped her or any of the other meerkats that have died.

Researchers must step outside their emotions and focus on life in the Kalahari as it really is and not life in the Kalahari as we would want it to be no matter how brutal it becomes. Circumstances change instantly in the wild. Any human intervention would alter the outcome of the research and the natural course of life for the meerkats and other species living in the Kalahari. Painful as it may be, this is a truism to which we must adhere.

Thanks to the researchers and the meerkat film crew we learn and get a better understanding of life in the wild for these intoxicating creatures. I am grateful for the opportunity to have experienced such an extra ordinary animal as Flower, Our Desert Rose. It will be interesting to see what adjustments her family has to make and the outcome of her baby daughter, Liz, and the orphaned Zappa pup. There will never be another leader quite like Flower. She was truly unique. Thanks for the memories all of you who are responsible for bring to us Meerkat Manor.

HEY!!!!what are you saying!that you LIKE it that they didn't interfear!they don't have a leader now!

No we are not happy Flower died. I agree with the original poster. You must understand that this is a study going on. They study how a meerkat lives. You must understand 4 things about this show.

1. This show is a documentary. Everything is real. They can not interfere.
2. If they started to interfere meerkats would forget how to be meerkats and when they do leave they would die.
3. Everything comes to an end no matter how much we do not want it to.
4. We can't blame the people who were there for Flowers death. Everyone watching this show should have known that things like this happen.

If you don't like it don't watch. We all miss Flower deeply. And the worst part is that we are just making a big mess out of this. There are more " I hate the Crew" and " This is unfair" etc. discussions then there are RIP Flower ones.

We all loved Flower. The Kalahari will never be the same. But Flower died defending her family. She took in the enemies pup because she was Flower. Because she cared. I think she would rather be remembered for that rather then how she didn't get treatment.