Transcript from September 28's Live Chat with Mick Kaczorowski

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Animal Planet: Welcome to Animal Planet's live Meerkat Manor chat with Mick Kaczorowski, senior executive producer of the series. Mick will answer all your questions about Flower, Mitch, Mozart, Zaphod and the rest of the gang between 9-10 PM ET/PT. So, ask away!

Mick Kaczorowski: I'd like to thank all the devoted fans for joining us tonight on this webcast. And I look forward to answering as many questions as possible.

digil: How is Animal Planet commemorating Flower's life?
Mick Kaczorowski: As you can see in this episode we had a minor sort of small tribute, but we're looking forward to the audience and friends and fans of Meerkat Manor to send their thoughts, tributes and anything else that they feel is appropriate to share with the Animal Planet family. (Post your thoughts in the "Flower Memorial" discussion forum.)

Figaro: Is Flower's DF collar going to be retired (not reused)?
Mick Kaczorowski: I don't really know. Probably. The collars, as you can see, evolve. It had been on Flower so long, technically they're upgrading the system so new collars are being placed on meerkats. So, most likely it was retired, but I don't know.

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MozartPal: What's your relationship with Flower and the rest of the Whiskers?
Mick Kaczorowski: My relationship is not as close as the researchers, not as close as the camera people. I've actually been to the Kalahari, in March this year and April, watching the production. I'm an observer, more or less like the audience, because I don't actually work with the meerkats and I don't spend long periods of time with them. And I just get weekly updates of what's going on in the Kalahari while we're in production. So, I took to people who are in the field during production and who are producing the movie for us.

amanda: How big a shock was it to the film crew when Flower passed away?
Mick Kaczorowski: It was a big shock, and everyone was moved. Flower had been, so far, one of the most successful dominant females in the Manor. She was about 6 years old, which is a remarkable age for meerkats, and everybody knew her. I don't want to say it's like having a pet, but obviously people were close to Flower in a unique way because of spending so much time studying and filming her. So, everybody was really moved.

bencollinz: Wasn't there any way to give Flower anti-venom?
Mick Kaczorowski: Unfortunately not. The bite happened underground. It wasn't until Flower emerged that everyone actually saw the swelling. At that point, you have to let nature take its course. There was no way we could intercede or change the effects of the poison.

Vala: What's going to happen to the Whiskers after Flower's death?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, like all meerkat families, there will be an internal struggle for who the next dominant female will be. And that struggle has already taken place, and you will see that happening in the upcoming episodes.

RCanal: What made Animal Planet choose to base a documentary series on meerkats?
Mick Kaczorowski: It was really a combination of Animal Planet UK and Oxford Scientific Films looking for something new and different in telling an animal documentary story. And no one had ever done a documentary soap opera on animals before. So it was just taking a chance that the unique thing about meerkats is the way they live in a family structure. And because they all go to the same burrow to sleep, it's a much easier animal to film on a daily basis because the crew can follow the activities of the meerkats relatively easily. Except of course for the heat of the Kalahari.

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terratrema: Is it true that Flower's body was recovered and buried by the researchers?
Mick Kaczorowski: Yes.

theknife: Is the Manor coming to an end or will there be further seasons?
Mick Kaczorowski: The Manor is definitely not coming to an end. And we are in the Kalahari right now, filming Season 4.

ASK: What is the expected life of a meerkat?
Mick Kaczorowski: It depends. The meerkats that survive the longest are the dominant females. So if you're a dominant female you have the protection of your male and you're basically calling the shots. And so a dominant female could possibly live to almost 11 years old, but that's rare. Between 6 and 11 is the life span of a meerkat, if things go well.

Mutt32: What will happen to Zaphod?
Mick Kaczorowski: Unfortunately, Zaphod will have to find a new partner because all the meerkats in the Whisker family are his children.

gkbowood: What happened to Sadie, Spud and the other pups?
Mick Kaczorowski: We haven't continued filming their storylines.

Goo: When was tonight's episode filmed?
Mick Kaczorowski: Around January 27, 2007.

jules4209: How many days after she was bit did she live?
Mick Kaczorowski: I think it was less than 48 hours.

Betsy: Are all of the meerkats that appear on the show domesticated? Born around people?
Mick Kaczorowski: We don't call them domesticated, but they're habituated. And the difference is that domesticated animals are pets and these meerkats are not pets. They're observed by scientists, filmmakers and other people so they're actually not afraid of human beings because they have this interaction and see human beings around them. But, they're not pets and they're not treated that way at all by the researchers and filmmakers. The meerkats are free to go anywhere they want in the whole Kalahari, and they travel through fences that allow them to go anywhere they want. So, these meerkats are, for all intents and purposes, wild, except they know human beings and know that human beings are not a threat.

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Mateyush: The narration stated Flower was a dominant for 4 years. What is the typical reign of a dominant female?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, basically a dominant female can last as long as her group does and as long as some kind of tragedy doesn't happen. A dominant female can last 6, 7, 8 years, something like that.

amays: What are the function of the collars?
Mick Kaczorowski: The collars are a radio collar and are used by the researchers to track the meerkats if they can't find them. One of the processes of the day is that everybody gets to the burrow where the meerkats sleep at around 6 a.m. So the researchers, film crew and everybody are waiting at a particular burrow for the meerkats to get out of the burrows, rise and sun themselves and warm themselves. But if the meerkats didn't return to their burrow at night, that's when the researchers use the radio collars to see where they've gone.

diesel75: How is medical intervention determined?
Mick Kaczorowski: There's no medical intervention with the animals in Meerkat Manor. Because they are wild animals, basically, the scientists don't believe that they should intercede because they don't want to have an effect on the gene pool by saving a weaker meerkat. Or affecting the outcome of what's natural in the Kalahari.

meerkathuggr: What's the timeframe between shooting and putting it on air?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, for Season 3, we started filming in November and completed filming around April. And the American audience is the first audience seeing Meerkat Manor Season 3.

Everbound_Ve: Do you think that the Whiskers will accept Axel now that Flower is gone?
Mick Kaczorowski: I can't really answer that question. You'll have to watch the episodes and see how it turns out.

Coz: Did the pack kill the snake?
Mick Kaczorowski: No.

asdf: Would Flower have survived if the tracker wasn't around her neck?
Mick Kaczorowski: No.

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Phlour: Is it true that the meerkats have a language, like humans and whales, etc.?
Mick Kaczorowski: Yes, meerkats do. As part of the scientific study ongoing in the Kalahari now, there's a German scientist who's been studying the vocalizations of the meerkats, and she has documented 30 different individual calls that meerkats make. They actually have calls to identify different prey from above and different prey on the ground. So, they communicate amongst themselves with regard to where danger is. And especially when they're moving in tall grasses, a dominant female will keep barking so all the pups and young adults know where to go if they're in tall grass. So, they're constantly listening for the calls.

ladypzazette: Have the researchers ever found out what happened to Shakespeare?
Mick Kaczorowski: No.

Chad: Is there any dangers for the camera crew in the filming of Meerkat Manor?
Mick Kaczorowski: Absolutely. Unfortunately, the same thing that happened to Flower could happen to an any of the crew. The snakes are there. The camera operators are basically in the sand of the Kalahari with their eye to the eye piece. A snake could come up behind them and if they didn't see it, they could step on it and get bitten. They're not going to get attacked by a jackal or birds of prey like the meerkats, but snakes are definitely dangerous, as are scorpions in their shoes while they're sleeping. And the heat of the Kalahari, which can get over 120 degrees. All this makes it a dangerous situation to film in.

Buttercup: What is it about these animals that we care so much do you think?
Mick Kaczorowski: I think it's the projection that we make when we look at them. They seem to have personality. It's the way their faces are shaped and the way their eyes look at us — look into the camera — that the audience connects with. And I think the way they stand on their back legs also allows us to have some kind of relationship with them that we sometimes don't have with other animals.

David: Mick, I have noticed when the researchers are around the meerkats, the meerkats seem to be more curious about the researchers. Are they all like that?
Mick Kaczorowski: The researchers have a much more integral relationship with the meerkats. The researchers weigh the meerkats three times a day. So, when the meerkats see the researchers and the scales come out, they know they're supposed to hop into the scale and their weight is taken. And they get a little bit of egg white, boiled egg, and a little taste of water. That happens three times a day in order to monitor the health of the meerkats, to see if they're getting enough food. So, they actually look forward to seeing the researchers.

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kathy: How are they protected from humans who would mean them harm?
Mick Kaczorowski: There's not really a threat to meerkats from humans. The threat doesn't exist.

Mark296: What happened to Youssarian? Will he be back? Mick Kaczorowski: Watch the episodes.

fcooke: How was it determined that The Whiskers would be followed rather than one of the other groups?
Mick Kaczorowski: It was all based on the successful leadership of Flower, because she'd been the most successful meerkat so far when we started filming. When we went to the people that are performing the research in the Kalahari, we asked them what meerkat group we should follow first. They said "Whiskers," because of Flower.

thepanda: How do you get the "up-close" shots during the meerkat battles?
Mick Kaczorowski: The interesting thing is when the battles happen, the meerkats are completely oblivious to human beings, researchers and the camera crews. So, the camera people can actually get amongst the meerkats with the camera and just follow the battle. It is truly amazing. When I was out there in March, we had a big battle and the meerkats are just oblivious to the humans and they're only looking at other meerkats and their rivals and how to win the war.

idgytg: How long did it take to habituate these families?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, there are two answers to that question. The researchers had already habituated the meerkats to human beings. The meerkats of Meerkat Manor are the most studied mammal on the planet. They've been studied for over 13 years. So, when the camera crew came — obviously another group of people and their equipment — it took a while. And I think you'll see the difference between shooting styles and the access we're getting between Season 1, Season 2 and Season 3. So, it's just a natural progression; the longer we spend with the meerkats, the more access they allow us to have into their lives.

Sandieroo: What type of snake bit Flower?
Mick Kaczorowski: Cape Cobra.

lwelchdog: Do you consider humanely euthanizing a meerkat to prevent suffering? Why didn't you euthanize Flower and prevent her suffering from the neurotoxin of the venom?
Mick Kaczorowski: The only euthanization that takes place is when a disease comes into the Manor. Sometimes, because there are cattle around the area and other meerkats in other areas have succumbed to bovine TB, they will euthanize meerkats to protect the whole group because they don't want a disease to wipe them out — especially if it's not a natural disease. So, that's also the reason why they would possibly euthanize an animal. But like Shakespeare surviving his snake bite, no one knew whether Flower would survive — whether or not she was strong enough. That's why they wouldn't have euthanized her.

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jrgiii: How many hours of footage is used for one season?
Mick Kaczorowski: Hundreds and hundreds of hours.

larry: As the meerkats build additional tunneling, how are you able to install the cameras?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, we know where the main burrow system is for the meerkat groups, so when we see them using a burrow on a regular basis we'll put a fiber-optic small camera in the burrow. Especially when they have pups. Sometimes we use something that's just called a pole cam, where we put a camera on a stick and put it into the burrow once we know that the meerkats are in the burrow as well, to capture some shots.

paje2: Will the clan mourn Flower?
Mick Kaczorowski: They mourn Flower, but really their main job is to survive in very harsh conditions of the Kalahari. So, they immediately need to look for someone else to be their leader and to keep feeding themselves, because meerkats need to replace 25 percent of their body weight every day. So, in order for them all to survive, they have to keep going on the same ritual of looking for food.

coolkids: How long do dominant males hang around a group without a dominant female?
Mick Kaczorowski: It depends, but immediately a dominant male knows that he has to find another mate, he has to start roving. Because only females will be selected and rise to the top and become the dominant, and most likely the ones that are rising to the top are one of his daughters. He can't mate with his daughters so he has to go roving and find a new partner. unrelated to him.

toodles: What benefits have come from the research on these meerkats?
Mick Kaczorowski: Really, I'm not an expert to speak on this, because I'm not a scientist in the study. But, like any study that goes on, you're learning about a particular animal, its way of life, how it raises its young, how it teaches its young. These are really important things to know in the scientific community for a greater understanding of this animal species.

Peaches: Where do the great directors and staff find the meerkat names?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, most — or some — of the names come from the list of names that the researchers have given them. But because so many meerkats are being watched in a group, sometimes the names overlap and they're difficult to distinguish one meerkat from another. As an example, when a new group is born, they'll give them all names of spices, something in a family group, or rock 'n roll songs, or things like that. So when we get to them... We couldn't make a show where everyone was named salt and pepper, paprika, etc. We have to add different names to spice things up, but the researchers keep those (original) names. Sometimes we'll look at a show and give an appropriate name or a name to honor someone, like we did in this episode where we called Flower's last born pup Liz, in honor of Elizabeth Taylor, who's a big fan of Meerkat Manor.

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ILVMRKTMNR: Would related meerkats in different groups fight/kill each other?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, once you join a different group and you're part of a group, you most likely will fight along with that group.

sanz: How do you keep track of which meerkat is which?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, specifically it's the researchers that know who every meerkat is. And when you see the little markings on their tails or some of the black circles, those are markings put on by the researchers and that's a little hair dye so at a distance they know which meerkat is which. Unfortunately, the markings will stay on as long as hair dye stays on, so they constantly have to re-dye them and sometimes the markings don't end up in the same place or look the same from year to year.

benj: What's the hardest or most difficult aspect of filming the series?
Mick Kaczorowski: I think it's a combination of the heat of the Kalahari and having the cameraman sit at eye level all day filming the meerkats, who are only 12 inches tall. So, if you can imagine what it's like to be just face-down in the sand, looking through a camera eyepiece in 100 degree heat, you'll know how difficult it is.

Cilla: Who's your favorite meerkat?
Mick Kaczorowski: I have several favorite meerkats I would say. Like everyone else, Shakespeare was my favorite from Season 1. Flower has always been one of my favorite meerkats, for her persistence and her leadership. And I'm really sort of looking to see whether Mitch sort of rises up and takes over. He had some of the same attributes as Shakespeare.

Peachy: This seems like the climax of the series — are there any more big surprises in store for the remainder of the season?
Mick Kaczorowski: I have to say, yes, there are some more surprises. And, although I can't tell you all of them, I think you'll see in the next upcoming episodes some remarkable transitions taking place with the Whiskers and all the other groups in the Manor.

durango58: Flower's described as such an incredible matriarch — what makes her stand out from the rest?
Mick Kaczorowski: The longevity of her reign. And her ability to lead a group of sometimes over 40 meerkats in one of the harshest places on the planet: the Kalahari.

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RedPen: What happened to Flower's body?
Mick Kaczorowski: She was buried in the Kalahari.

MowDog34: Is the upcoming movie going to follow the same families and storylines as the TV show?
Mick Kaczorowski: The movie, Flower: Queen of the Meerkats, is going to be sort of the prequel to the television series. We're going to tell the story of Flower's rise to power and how she got to be Queen of the Whiskers.

ccb: I have friends in the UK who wish they could see it — is there a plan to show it there?
Mick Kaczorowski: It is playing in the UK right now, on Animal Planet UK.

gabby: How large can a meerkat group become? Is a large group always better off?
Mick Kaczorowski: There's safety in numbers when you have to battle other meerkat gangs. There's also the trouble of having so many mouths to feed. So, the area where you're living has to provide enough food. So, I think we've seen with the Whiskers, that 40 is probably at the higher end of what a group can actually sustain food-wise and to stay together.

msuturf01: How come you don't film during the winter months?
Mick Kaczorowski: Because it's so cold — it actually can snow in the Kalahari — the meerkats are not as active. And also, we start filming when they start having pups.

MaggieMO: How did you select Sean Astin as the narrator? He's quite good!
Mick Kaczorowski: His name just kept coming up when we started looking for someone who would bring something fresh and new to the series. We really wanted someone who had a great voice and who could really help with the storytelling. I think Sean was a great choice and he has been so much fun to work with.

callalily504: How large are the meerkat burrow systems?
Mick Kaczorowski: I don't think we'll ever know. We don't know how deep they go. It's one of the things we've always wanted to do, is really investigate to see what life goes on under the burrows. Right now, what you see now only happens at the top. It's because right now we can't get cameras deeper into the burrows.

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karbuth: Why do they do a war dance to other groups?
Mick Kaczorowski: It's intimidation. Like all battle, it's much better to try and scare off your opponent by making it seem like you're a bigger group, that you're angrier. So, from a distance the meerkats bobbing up and down doing the war dance, they're trying to intimidate their rivals without having to actually go to battle.

Shotie: How many offspring did Flower successfully have in her tenure as a dominant female?
Mick Kaczorowski: I'm not sure, I'm going to say close to 70.

goldenroad: Is there a danger of the tunnels collapsing due to the equipment, camera crews, etc.?
Mick Kaczorowski: Well, we know where the burrows are, so we stay away. We're never so close to the entrance with heavy cameras. And we're always guided by the researchers about how close to go to the burrows.

Animal Planet: Mick, thank you so much for being here tonight to answer our questions about Meerkat Manor! Is there anything you'd like to add, before we have to end the chat?
Mick Kaczorowski: Everyone here at Animal Planet are devastated by the loss of Flower. There probably will never be a meerkat closer to our hearts than Flower. But I want to thank all of you for being such dedicated fans, and I think that you'll see that although we've lost Flower life goes on in Meerkat Manor — and life goes on in the Kalahari. I look forward to seeing your comments after you watch future episodes of Meerkat Manor. Next year, when the movie comes out, you'll be able to see Flower's story on the big screen.

Animal Planet: Thank you for joining Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor live chat. If you'd like to continue talking about Flower, please visit the Flower discussion forum now. In case you missed any of our live chat, look for the full transcript on the Flower Memorial page early next week. Also, make sure to tune in to Meerkat Manor every Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT to see what happens next.

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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.