Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty

Previously on Meerkat Manor...

Swift gave birth to her fifteenth litter

but faced a childcare crisis of her own making,

having kicked out all of her best nannies.

Gurke returned from his first roving trip

to a 'welcome home' smothering by Hakuna Matata.

While his uncle Belphegor buddied up with Pixie

for a boys' life of adventure.

And the seasonal rain finally arrived,

bringing with it hope of better times.

Two months of rain have transformed the manor.

What was once a dry, and desperate landscape

is now an Eden, rich with possibility.

But this new, green Kalahari

is not quite the paradise it appears.

Every change in the environment heralds a change in fortune.

And every silver lining has a cloud.

The summer downpours have resulted in an eruption

of tall sourgrass across the entire Manor.

which, when you're less than 12 inches tall,

makes it extremely difficult to see...

or be seen.

At the Hakuna Matata burrow

it's not just the height of the grass

that is proving to be an irritation.

The sap is causing eye infections

and itchy sores on everyone's skin.

Akida is finding lookout duty particularly uncomfortable

at a time when sharp eyes are needed more than ever.

Who knows what could be lurking in all this?

It's a big worry for Flint,

whose pups Ogg, Weatherwax, Greebo and Havelock

are still vulnerable,

and who now has another, even younger litter

who are too small to leave the burrow.

Proud Finnick stands dutifully by her,

having now fully embraced his role as responsible father.

The downside to this baby boom

is that with newborns underground

the family is effectively trapped at this overgrown burrow

for another two weeks at least.

Sencha is doing most of the babysitting,

assisted by Munchkin

who has suddenly taken to throwing her weight around.

And it's some weight.

Her large belly reveals that she's been courted by a rover...

and there's no hiding the consequences of their tryst.

Flint's already kicked her out once.

She's been allowed home to help care for the leader's newborns,

now that she is no longer a threat to them

but she's living on a knife-edge...

and she knows it.

So she's sucking up big time.

The problem is her incessant grooming and caressing

is just becoming another irritation, to Flint.

The tall grass is causing similar problems

for the Whiskers.

The difference is Swift's youngest pups -

Woolf, Bronte and Wilde -

are 7 weeks old and well on their way to independence.

The trio are bigger than most pups their age -

thanks to the banquet of bugs triggered by the summer rains.

In fact, there are round bellies everywhere you look.

The pups are now old enough to move with the rest of the family

so Swift can lead them to a better place to stay...

...if they can find their way to it!

Young Lupin keeps look-out for approaching danger.

And he's not the only one.

A lark panics...

at the sight of a pack of predators.

The flustered parent is protecting a chick

somewhere on the ground.

It would make a good meal for someone.

But it could be anywhere.

The second parent hits the panic button...

...seemingly offering a clue to the location of its young.

The clever lark is a decoy -

to lure the Whiskers away from the chick.

Their deception outsmarts Hachi!

But unfortunately, the tactic didn't work on Laika...

who's already tucking into her chick meal for one.

Whiskers 1 - Larks Nil.

Predators come in many guises.

Swift would do well to remember that

as she leads her family on.

Meanwhile, unable to venture far from their burrow,

the Hakuna Matata are heading up a nearby dune,

to get out of the grass.

Finnick is first to reach the top.

His view across the Manor is now very different

from the bleak dustbowl the family has had to endure

for so much of the year.

But this highpoint doesn't offer

the safe foraging they were hoping for.

The wind up here makes it hard to hear predators.

Exposed in the open,

it would be all too easy for a raptor to strike.

Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea after all.

Back at the burrow,

his roving adventures curtailed by the long grass,

young Gurke is patiently helping his aunties

babysit the new kids.

He's been stuck at home for days.

Beneath him, in the network of underground tunnels,

something is stirring.

It's Flint's new litter!

The five tiny pups stumble their way towards the entrance,

accompanied by Sencha.

First to appear is Seymour.

Then Yasha, Mooncake, Reef and Mae.

The 3 boys and 2 girls

have emerged several days earlier than expected.

They're far too young to leave the safety of the burrow

but Sencha isn't concerned.

She gently encourages them to suckle.

Munchkin can't provide milk while she's pregnant

so she keeps guard instead.

She can't afford anything to go wrong.

If she gets kicked out,

she will very likely miscarry her own pups.

With feeding time over, the kids start to find their feet

but their innocent play is about to be rudely interrupted.

Still agitated from his experience on the dune,

Finnick is horrified to see his pups in the open...

and leaps into action.

But instead of shepherding them

back into the safety of the burrow,

he does the unthinkable...