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Flower Whiskers

Flower(DF)

Mob
Dominant
Yes
Birth Date
March 15, 2000
Death Date
January 25, 2007
Death Cause
Snake bite
Partner
Children
Age when first became dominant
Two years old
Known For
Long-term Dominant female of Whiskers
Also Known As
The Queen of the Kalahari


Flower Whiskers was the dominant female of the Whiskers for five years. In her third year as dominant female her group was chosen to be filmed for a new TV series. The Whiskers became the stars of Animal Planet documentary Meerkat Manor. She was seen as the dominant female meerkat of the Whiskers. Flower was the matriarch of the Whiskers with her partner Zaphod. She was just twelve inches tall, but she was a small animal with a big personalty. Flower was a resilient meerkat, not willing to fall at the first herbal. Her confidence in leadership is the one key that kept the Whiskers going and was what the family looked up to. Flower's leadership was always a source of stability for her family, which saw them through daily life trials of residence. She was the guiding light which always pulled the Whiskers to full strength and kept them going in life in the Kalahari. Flower was also a great source of inspiration to all members of her family, mostly her children. Some of the current leaders of today's groups are her children. Flower was a special meerkat because her life is known with accuracy compared to any other meerkat of the Kalahari. She was a true fighter and not only in her ways of leading but also in terms of resilience. Her long five year reign as queen of the Whiskers came to a tragic end with a snake bite, she still proved to be a tough meerkat having made it through the first twenty four hours while the venom pumped in her body. She may have tragically and very sadly left us but her spirit still lives in her children including some of the meerkats of today and her wisdom will always be a pressures treasure to the Whiskers family. Flower will never be forgotten by her Whiskers family, the Kalahari Meerkat Project and to all who knew her.

History

Flower

Flower as the dominant female

Flower was born on the 15th March in the year 2000. She was born in a group called the Whiskers, formed in 1998. Her mother was the dominant female of the Whiskers at that time Holly. She was from the Young Ones origin. Her father was actually a roving male named Kine from the Rascals. Her father was not the dominant male of the Whiskers, Argon.Her brother Thumper was the largest pup. Flower and her siblings were born during the time when the Whiskers numbered nineteen members. Her mother Holly, Flower's older half sisters, Vialli(VWF012), Zola(VWF011), Aramis(VWF016) and Wahine(VWF019), her older cousins, Risca(VWF004), Artemis(VWF010), and Aphrodite(VWF009) were the females. Males included dominant male Argon(VLM001), his brother Delpheus(VLm003), a wild male Beetle, her older cousins Lancelot(VWM007) and Jean-Luc(VWM008) and her older half brothers Dennis Wise(VWM014), Porthos(VWM018), Athos(VWM015), Rangi(VWM021), Orgali(VWM022), Tama(VWM020). Flower and her siblings spent their young lives under ground. The first of their family to meet was Risca who curiously entered the birth chamber where Holly and the pups lay. Her mother Holly would go off foraging so her older female cousins or half siblings would often babysit the pups. When Flower reached the age of two weeks old, her cousin Lancelot was on babysitting duty when another group, the Lazuli first attacked the Whiskers burrow. The dominant female of the Lazuli, Ziziphus almost killed Flower and her siblings but thanks to her cousin Lancelot who defended them, they survived. Flower reached the age of three weeks old and she was ready to emerge from the burrow for the first time.

Flower and her siblings were ready to head off foraging with the family at the age of four weeks old. The group foraged and at this age, all Flower had to do is beg for food. She was not expected to find her own food until the age of four months or more. She was brought food by the other meerkats. The most generous of her elders was her half sister Vialli and cousin Risca. Her mother Holly, as the dominant female, didn't really contribute to bringing food. As the they got older, Flower and her siblings went out foraging with the adults more often. As the Whiskers were moving fast, her sister Petal lagged behind. Petal calls reached her older half sister Vialli who went back for her until she heard the calls of another pup being lost, it was Flower. Vialli dropped Petal and went back for Flower. She got Flower and tried to return to Petal but Petal had already been in in the talons of a Goshawk. Vialli and Flower returned to the Whiskers. Flower lost her sister. Flower and her brothers grew into juveniles. She did started finding food for herself and did not beg for food as much as she did as a pup. She didn't started babysitting till she was older. She was about nine months old when her mother Holly gave birth to a new litter. That litter consisted of her younger siblings Montgomery(VWM027), Mr. Burns(VWM028) and Smithers(VWF029).

Flower foraging Jan07

Flower while foraging.

Flower was an adult at the age of a year old. She now began to take babysitting duties and sentry duties. Eleven days after her the birth of her new younger siblings her mother Holly was taken by a Martial eagle. Flower lost her mother on the 19th September 2000. Flower was still too young to take her mother's place as the dominant female, so her older cousin Risca took the position. The life for Flower and her brothers Thumper and Hazel did not change. Risca however was weak in terms of being able to control the breeding success of the other females. Most of the adult females mated with roving males. Her step father Argon and Depheus left and formed the QQ group. Her brothers began to rove. Beetle stayed in the Whiskers and took the position of dominant male. Soon Beetle and some of the other males(including her brothers, Thumper and Hazel left to go roving. A new group of eleven Vivian males joined the Whiskers. Izit, one of the males, took the dominant male position in the Whiskers group. Risca still could not control the other females like a dominant female should and all above a year old. The females mated with the new Vivian males. Risca, Vialli, Zola, Artemis, Aphrodite, Aramis and Wahine were all pregnant by the new males. Flower did not conceive. All the pregnant females, except her cousin Artemis, lost their litters to each other. Some of the Whiskers males that left the group returned but were chased off by the Vivian males. That was the last time Flower saw her brothers, Thumper and Hazel.

The Whiskers group dynamics were changing. Risca's grip on power weakened. She eventually lost dominance to Vialli. Risca, Wahine and most of the older subordinate females were evicted. They formed the Gattaca whit Izit. Flower was now the second oldest female in the group. She and Vialli both mated with some of the new males. The former dominant Izit also lost his dominant position to his younger half brother Zaphod. Vialli often bullied Flower despite the fact that she cared for her as a pup. Both Flower and Vialli were pregnant. Flower was pregnant for the first time in her life. She was the first of the two to give birth, but Vialli killed her newborn pups. Vialli then gave birth to her litter of seven pups fathered by Zaphod. She evicted Flower from the Whiskers. This was the first time Flower had been without her family. She was later allowed to rejoined the group.


Whiskers Queen

Flower and Zaphod

Zaphod and Flower

A few weeks after her pups started foraging, Vialli disappeared probably taken by a predator. Flower was the oldest female in the group and established her dominance over the other females including her younger sister Smithers and her nieces Ugly Pup, Mi Julie and Rydapuni. She was now about two years old and for the first time in her life, she was the dominant female of the Whiskers. This was on the 7th of February, 2002. Zaphod was still the dominant male and his relationship with Flower changed. When she was a subordinate female he had payed little attention towards her, but now being the dominant female, he seldom left her side. Vialli's pups made it to adulthood. Flower's breeding success was now increased as the dominant female. She was pregnant, but her nieces Mi Julie, Ugly Pup and her younger sister by nine months, Smithers, were also pregnant. Flower gave birth, but her litter was again, killed by another female, Mi Julie. Mi Julie gave birth but Smithers killed her litter. Smithers gave birth, but Ugly Pup killed her litter. Ugly Pup then had her litter which none of her pups made it to adulthood. Flower's first two litter were both killed and so Flower then began to evict some of her subordinate females to protect her own. She evicted her last sister Smithers, Mi Julie, Ugly Pup and Rydapuni from the group. They formed the Asphodel Mob. Flower conceived another litter again, and this time, there were no other pregnant subordinate females in the group which would threaten her pups' survival. That was when she gave birth to her very first surviving litter of three pups, Baddiel, Stato and Skinner on August 18, 2002 fathered by Zaphod. She produced litter after litter. As the dominant female, Flower had the right to breed exclusively for herself and would not allow any of her daughters to breed. Her two daughters Mozart and Baddiel both had litters of pups, but Flower allowed them to live. She did however attack and evict Mozart and Baddiel from the Whiskers family. Flower allowed Baddiel and Mozart's litters to live. She then led a burrow move which forced her daughter Super Furry Animal to abandon her pups and stay with her family.

File:Flower, Zaphod and Youssarian Dec05.jpg

Flower, Zaphod and a juvenile meerkat

When the Whiskers split into two due to their large numbers, she led the smaller half of the family while her daughter Duper Furry Animal led the other. Flower's evicted daughter Baddiel had the guts to return and took leadership of the splinter group from her sister. Soon the Whiskers were re-united, Flower and Baddiel fought for dominance. Flower won and evicted Baddiel from the Whiskers again. Flower was also a caring mother having produced over forty seven pups. Flower's breeding partner changed when Zaphod lost dominance to his litter-mate brother Yossarian, who became Flower's mate. Flower then came back into season and mated with a roving male from the Gattaca called Mr. Wendell and gave birth to three pups. Yossarian then fathered two of her litters before Zaphod deposed him. He became Flower's long-term mate and father most of her litters after that. Flower also mated with a Young Ones rover named Aurinko. The group splint again this time her daughter Rocket Dog took leadership of the larger group. Flower always led the smaller group. The group reunited and Rocket Dog handed leadership over to Flower with out a fight. Flower took dominance of the Whiskers again but she didn't' evict Rocket Dog sine she handed over leadership without a fight unlike her older sister Baddiel. Flower ruled the Whiskers for five years till she died of a snake bit on January 25, 2002. Rocket Dog took leadership after her.


Litters

  • Flower gave birth to her first litter on August 18, 2002 to Baddiel (VWF049), Stato (VWM050) and Skinner (VWF051). The litter was fathered by Zaphod.
  • Flower gave birth to her second litter on November 8, 2002 to Einstein (VWM052), Mozart (VWF053), Shakespeare (VWM054) and Freud (VWM055). The litter was fathered by Zaphod.
  • Flower gave birth to her sixth litter on September 6, 2004 to Hawkeye (VWF072), Logan (VWM073), Mitch (VWM074) and Cruise (VWF075). The litter was fathered by Zaphod.
  • Flower gave birth to her seventh litter on December 6, 2004 to Petra (VWF083), Machu Pichu (VWM084), Ningaloo (VWM085) and Popkat (VWF086). The litter was fathered by Zaphod.
  • Flower gave birth to her eighth litter on February 22, 2005 to Kim (VWF089), Flo (VWF090) and Finn (VWF091). The litter was fathered by Zaphod.
  • Flower gave birth to her ninth litter on August 26, 2005 to Billy (VWF093), Miles (VWM094), Ella (VWF095) and Baker (VWM096). The litter was fathered by Zaphod.
  • Flower gave birth to her eleventh litter on January 29, 2006 to Panthro (VWM102), Cheetara (VWF103) and Wiley Kat (VWF104). The litter was fathered by Zaphod.
  • Flower gave birth to her twelfth litter on September 2, 2006 to Suggs (VWM109), Izzy (VWF110) and Busta (VWM111). The litter was fathered by Zaphod.
  • Flower gave birth to her thirteenth litter on November 20, 2006 to Ren (VWM112) and Stumpy (VWM113). This was her last litter, fathered by Zaphod. Or perhaps the father was a Young Ones male called Aurinko.

Death

Flower had been in charge of the Whiskers family for five years. She was six years old, almost seven years old in two months.

Flower3

Rest In Peace Flower

The Whiskers had just reunited after being apart for a few months. They were returning from the days forage when the group came across a cape cobra near the babysitting burrow. The Whiskers managed to see it off but could not drive it away. The Cobra made its way into the Whiskers burrow. The Whiskers tried to mob it but without succession. Flower took it in herself and went down below ground to confront the deadly intruder. She was given a fatal bit to the head. Her head swelled up from the venom pumping in her body. Flower six years old whish is old for a meerkat. Her body couldn't handle the venom. She was weak from the dry winter's bad forage and her age. She layed still near the burrow entrance until she died. She died within 24 hour of being bitten by the snake on January 25, 2007.


Flower's Successors

The Whiskers then came under new management when one of Flower's daughters, Rocket Dog, took the role of dominant female. She had led the splinter group before Flower died and proved herself as a worthy successor. Monkulus also led a group split and formed the Aztecs. She also proved herself as a worthy successor but she never led the Whiskers. After Rocket Dog died when she was hit by a vehicle near the KMP, another one of Flower's last daughters still in the Whiskers named Ella took dominance. The Whiskers are still alive today but many of Flower's daughters have become dominant in other groups as well as her sons.

Meerkat Manor

Flower was featured on the hit series Meerkat Manor. She played the leader fo the Whiskers, the starts of the show. Her mate

Flower(VWF026)

Flower on Meerkat Manor

was Zaphod the dominant male. Flower led her family through many difficult situations like defending their territory, fighting rivals, surviving droughts and raising pups. Flower was seen through the first three season before she died. She was regularly mentioned in the fourth season. Flower then evicted her eldest daughter Tosca(Baddiel) and Mozart, which made her a bit unliked, however she often allowed them back in the group. She was the one who was the main treat to her daughters' new born pups but she allowed a few litters to survive. Her pups always came first and were spoiled. Many of her children became start on their own like Tosca, Mozart, Shakespeare, Mitch, Colombus(Kim), Daisy(Super Furry Animal), Kinkaju, Rocket Dog and Monkulus. Flower died after being bitten by a snake on the show. She had just re-united her family and adopted Axel. The Whiskers lost their beloved matriarch.

Flower's Articles

Flower was such a special meerkat that articles have been made in her honor:

  1. Meerkat Manor The Story Begins
  2. Flower Of The Kalahari
  3. Flower the Queen of the Kalahari

Gallery

These are the pictures of the Kalahari queen, Flower.


Meerkat Manor Whiskers
Dominate Meerkats:
Flower | Zaphod | Daisy | Tosca | Rocket Dog
Subordinate Males:
Youssarian | Mitch | Axel | Zorro | Baker | Miles | Duke | Dizzy | Seacrest
Subordinate Females:
Mozart | Daisy | Tosca | Rocket Dog | Ella | Finn | Wiley Kat | Maybelline
Sub-adults:
Rita
Pups:
Many
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