‘Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty’ Recap – ‘Episode 5: Sister, Sister’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty’.
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There are a great many reasons to celebrate the BBC America series, Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty. Such as the fact that this is one of the most entertaining documentary series out there, thanks to its high-level production values and the downright creativity that goes into exploring the lives of three of the meerkat families that are populating the Kalahari. Since we are often treated to fascinating stories that parallel nature’s world and our own, that also give life and personality to these incredibly cute little critters. But of all the reasons to love this series, the biggest one of all… is that this endearing saga manages to educate us whilst it entertains by giving us an unprecedented look into the life of the meerkat and that was never more apparent than it was during last night’s episode.

For ‘Episode 5: Sister, Sister’ was a tale that was… mostly devoid of the dramatic moments that we’ve become accustomed to in order to show us a powerful look at the day in the life of a meerkat and well, what we learned about their daily lives was fascinating to say the least. For instance, we came to learn that everyday attempts at romance can be quite the risky affair for the meerkat. Because ‘Randy’ Shandy decided to swing by the Ubuntu Tribe’s new home to flirt about with the ladies and well, while they were open and receptive to the flirt fest and encouraged it and participated within it… danger came with making googly meerkat eyes. For the men of the family came to realize that an intruder was in their midst, and made every effort to chase Shandy off and it would have been worse had they caught him. But that sure didn’t stop Shandy from doing his best to show the ladies of the tribe that he was single and ready to mingle. 

Which really was quite the incredible segment to watch since it helped us to learn exactly how the meerkat attracts a mate and the wonder of this tale didn’t end with an in-depth look at the mating rituals of the meerkat. For this episode also took the time to show us that sometimes, young meerkats are pressed into family service far sooner than they might expect. For young Laker and Fly were asked by Swift to keep an eye on the little ones in the family whilst everyone else went out to forage for food and well, as it turns out, being asked to take part in such a big task at such a young age… can be quite daunting for a meerkat. Because while Laker and Fly did a respectable job of watching over their little brothers… they did struggle mightily with properly handling their own needs and were impulsive in doing so. Which could have brought great harm to the new members of the family, but thankfully didn’t. But this just goes to show that it isn’t easy being pressed into babysitter status if you’re a young meerkat, but it will likely happen and hopefully these two learned some valuable lessons.

But while a lot of these moments made for cute viewing and taught us plenty about how meerkats fall in love and raise their young… the final segment in this tale, served as a fine reminder that while supremely cute, the meerkat is an animal, one that will fiercely protect its territory and its young when needed. As evidenced by the harrowing story involving the Hakuna Matata Clan. For Flint was simply on the warpath in this tale, largely because her hormones were surging since she was so close to bearing her young and those very hormones brought about all kinds of red flags in her mind. For her sisters were nearly ready to bear children of their own and that meant there was the potential that one of those sisters could vie for control of the clan if they became pregnant, to the point where they might hurt Flint’s pups. Which in turn pushed Flint to do something drastic and exile Sencha from the family, to make it clear that she was in charge, and that if anyone challenged that… they would pay the price.

Which was a stunning turn of events to say the least, since we’ve seen all of these families work hard to stay together and find unity, despite a few sour moments and hiccups along the way. But that just goes to show, that the meerkat will go to any length to preserve the future of the family line and well, all of these elements made for one engrossing adventure. Since we were genuinely privy to all of the good and the bad that takes place during a day in the life of the meerkat and well, now that this fascinating chapter in the journey has come to its end, it is definitely safe to say that we are all nervously counting down the minutes until next week’s midseason finale. Since we are all dying to know if Sencha is going to be okay after being exiled from her home and the only family that she’s ever known. Until next time.

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