Loss of the Kalahari's Desert Rose

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Many of you I'm sure have watched Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet. Sadly the leader of The Whiskers Flower has died. Affectionately referred to as the "Kalahari Desert Rose" by those who knew her best, she was a formidable leader and a noble mother.

For four years she was leader of one of the largest, most close-knit families on the land along with her mate/partner Zaphod the dominate male.Flower was born in 2000 and the leader of her family, the Whiskers, lived large for a 12-inch-tall meerkat. Under her rule, the Whiskers endured extreme hardships, ranging from sibling rivalries to violent clashes with the Commandos and the Zappas, their neighboring rival families. Despite the chaos, Flower remained a source of stability for her family, often making life-or-death decisions without breaking a sweat or cracking a claw. An inspiration to her tribe, this fearless female was no "girly-girl." Flower ruled her family with an iron paw but still revealed her softer side when indulging in cuddles with her newborns or playing in the dirt.

Flower might have lived to see future generations of Whiskers if her life wasn't cut tragically short when she came face-to-masked-face with a cape cobra snake that sadly fatally bit her while she saved her pups and the babysitters.

This is a devastating loss to Zaphod and the rest of the Whiskers. As well as Cambridge University ,Animal Planet, the Kalahari Meerkat project, and those of us who watched in on they're lives.

Before she died she adopted a pup named Axle that was left behind by The Zappa clan when her son Mitch found him in the middle of the desert alone with predators around.
Instead of killing the pup and seeing him as a threat she took little Axle in as her own.


In 2008 Flower: Queen of the Meerkats will be in theaters. I am going to make sure I see that.



Heres where you can see a picture and read more about Flower

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/ne ... &cset=true

My mom watches this. She has been talking about poor Flower for the past two days. I just imagine what it must have been like for the people there filming it, having agreed not to interfere, but having also become attached to the meerkats.

I'm sure having to sit on the sidelines and not be able to do anything was tough. I heard they did however give Flower a proper burial at least. They did get to a point the meerkats would come up to them and let the humans handle them and would at times use them to see out on higher ground.

My whole family enjoys "Meerkat Manor," and the loss of Flower is truly tragic. She is gone, but not forgotten. It certainly makes one wonder about the future of the Whiskers, doesn't it?

Couldn't they they have saved her by giving her anti-venom?

I'm sure it would have been worth a shot to save her.