Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari

The book is full of beautiful photography and offers insight and additional detail to events that were softly touched on by the Animal Planet series of the same name - I find that the chart of all of Flower's pups in the back of the book to be particularly helpful. Overall, it is well-written and easy to read - anyone who is interested in animals, Meerkat Manor, or Meerkats in general will enjoy this book.

This is an amazing book about some amazing little creatures!! If you are a Meerkat Manor fan, or just a meerkat fan in general, you will absolutely LOVE this book!! It is the life story of a meerkat named Flower...the leader of the Whiskers clan of meerkats on Animal Planet's "Meerkat Manor" show. She is one absolutely awesome little lady and a formidable leader. This book, about this little meerkat will truly inspire you.

This was truly an excellent book about these incredible little animals. It covers the entire life of Flower, from her birth to her tragic death. It also mixes in general information about meerkat society in more detail than the TV show can possibly cover. The author writes in a manner that is almost detached, and very unemotional. While he does care deeply for these animals, he doesn't try to romanticize their lives and presents them as they really are. I was especially interested in reading this book to learn the truth of Flower's death. I was very disturbed when I heard that the show was a set-up and the events were skewed by editing. This book sheds light on what really happened to her. Her death is tragic enough; I don't understand why the show would give us such blatantly false information. For those of you who don't know the real events surrounding Flower's death, I won't spoil the ending for you. Read this book for answers.

Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari is a must have for any fan of Meerkat Manor, Meerkats or animals and their behavior. For the fan of MM, it is great to finally get to hear about the early years of Flower and how she became the ultimate dominate of the Whiskers as well as learning the true family connections and relationships among some of the other meerkats we have all come to know and love. For the animal lover, this is a marvelous look into the intriguing world of the meerkat with its altruistic behavior and daily fight for life in the harsh Kalahari Desert. This book has it's ups and downs. It can put a smile on your face for sure, but can also bring a tear to your eye. But like the show, it is well worth the ride!

Meerkat Manor is a television series on Animal Planet which is currently in its third season. The author started the Kalahari Meerkat project and is an adviser to the TV show. The book covers the life of Flower, one of the "stars" of the show. It also details how the project started, the focus of the research, what they've learned, and what life is like for the researchers. He also includes a list of scientific publications, a timeline for Flower's life, and a list of her pups and what happened to them. Of course, the major focus of the book is on the meerkats themselves. The book does an excellent job of outlining the lives of meerkats, and often compares and contrasts meerkats to other animals. There are a lot of fascinating details that have never been mentioned in the show, such as how Zaphod came to join the Whiskers (when I read it, I literally put the book down and said, "Wow, really?!"). The book is fairly large and of high-quality construction. It feels similar to a good coffee table book. The book includes hundreds of beautiful pictures, including many full-page and two-page spreads. All-in-all, it's an excellent read for anyone who has an interest in nature.