I got back from a work trip last Saturday night and was anxious to just sit on the sofa and catch up with some tv. I watched Grey's Anatomy and other stuff, then decided I'd close the night with Meerkat Manor. It turned out to be a mistake--I'd barely sleep that night. You see, the main character of the show--matriach meerkat Flower--was killed by a cobra.
The last few episodes of the Animal Planet show had been pretty sad, including the horribly lonely yelping of a nearly-lame baby meerkat being left behind in the desert to die. But this episode began so hopeful. The 40-strong Whisker family the show follows adopted a lost meerkat from another group, then they had a huge group playday, and ended by finding lots of great food for the group.
But suddenly out of nowhere, Flower was killed by a cobra. You watched her crawl into a hole to defend her pups. We heard a hiss and then the camera went to black. The next thing you know, the once nimble Flower is stumbling anxiously outside the den...her head unbelievably swollen from the cobra's bite. It's clear she's confused and in excruciating pain. The voiceover narrator, Sean Astin says something like, "Flower died protecting her pups. Her four-year reign has come to an end and the flower of the Kalahari will be missed." And I was bawling.
Bawling. Like a baby. Sure it's a tv show, and yes, they're just animals. But the show so anthropomorphizes the Whiskers you come to think of them as characters. No, they are characters. And I don't know meerkats, but I can tell you Flower was beautiful and wiley. She was brave and full of spunk and had bravely led the family through hardships for three seasons of the show.
Evidently people everywhere are grieving for Flower. There has been an outpouring of grief and little kids and grown ups alike have had a horrible time accepting the death of "someone" they've known for three seasons on a reality tv show. Even though the episode ended with Flower's new pup Liz emerging from the den for the first time, I couldn't by the circle of life crap. All I could think is how much I'd miss Flower and how could I ever get the image of he--swollen and in pain--out of my mind.
The last few episodes of the Animal Planet show had been pretty sad, including the horribly lonely yelping of a nearly-lame baby meerkat being left behind in the desert to die. But this episode began so hopeful. The 40-strong Whisker family the show follows adopted a lost meerkat from another group, then they had a huge group playday, and ended by finding lots of great food for the group.
But suddenly out of nowhere, Flower was killed by a cobra. You watched her crawl into a hole to defend her pups. We heard a hiss and then the camera went to black. The next thing you know, the once nimble Flower is stumbling anxiously outside the den...her head unbelievably swollen from the cobra's bite. It's clear she's confused and in excruciating pain. The voiceover narrator, Sean Astin says something like, "Flower died protecting her pups. Her four-year reign has come to an end and the flower of the Kalahari will be missed." And I was bawling.
Bawling. Like a baby. Sure it's a tv show, and yes, they're just animals. But the show so anthropomorphizes the Whiskers you come to think of them as characters. No, they are characters. And I don't know meerkats, but I can tell you Flower was beautiful and wiley. She was brave and full of spunk and had bravely led the family through hardships for three seasons of the show.
Evidently people everywhere are grieving for Flower. There has been an outpouring of grief and little kids and grown ups alike have had a horrible time accepting the death of "someone" they've known for three seasons on a reality tv show. Even though the episode ended with Flower's new pup Liz emerging from the den for the first time, I couldn't by the circle of life crap. All I could think is how much I'd miss Flower and how could I ever get the image of he--swollen and in pain--out of my mind.
