Previously on Meerkat Manor...
Swift had a crisis on her hands
when partner Brea went missing on the hottest day of the year.
The Ubuntu snatched victory from Hakuna Matata
at the mighty battle of the burrow...
leaving Flint to find a new home in which to give birth.
And her outcast sister Sencha made a surprise return...
But is she intent on reconciliation,
or something more sinister?
There comes a time in every family,
when the young are ready to make their own way in the world.
To break free and seek their opportunities elsewhere.
They may face hardship and adversity...
...but this never outweighs the urge to move on.
It's been three weeks since Flint gave birth.
But there's no sign of any pups.
The Hakuna Matata head off as usual for breakfast.
The long-anticipated rains still haven't come,
so, the family continues to scratch out a meagre existence from the dust.
Munchkin stays behind at the burrow to stand guard.
It's a good sign.
Because it means Flint's pups are alive and well.
There are four new family members -
three boys and a girl -
but they're still too small and vulnerable
for life above ground.
Munchkin is guarding the main entrance...
but she is not alone.
Previously evicted for being a threat to Flint's newborns,
her sister Sencha has re-joined the family...
so far without incident.
But with the rest of the family out of the way,
could this be the moment she fulfils some murderous intent?
While Munchkin is distracted,
she makes her way in by another entrance.
Just a short distance away,
Flint and the rest of the family have run into trouble... again.
Their annoying neighbours, the Plovers,
are giving them another earful.
Plover eggs for breakfast would make a delicious change of menu.
But the noisy pair are no longer protecting an egg.
They now have a chick.
It has barely started to grow wings yet...
so the chick is a sitting duck.
It wouldn't be unappetising, but the racket is off-putting...
So Flint leads her foraging expedition away.
Back at the burrow,
her own pups are safely tucked away underground.
Or are they?
Sencha's motives are finally revealed.
She's not here to kill them.
She's here to look after them!
Her romance with lover Lilac turned out to be short-lived.
So once Flint had given birth she was accepted back
and is now embracing her role as Auntie.
But just as one family member returns,
another is thinking of leaving.
Ambitious teenager Belphagor has plans of his own.
It's a peaceful spring morning
in dust-ridden Whiskers territory.
Swift's daughters,
Epsilon and Mercy are first up...
and there's time for a moment's contemplation
while everybody else sleeps in.
Trouble is brewing for Epsilon.
The bulge of her belly suggests
she's also been indulging the attentions of a rover
and is in the early stages of pregnancy.
Her mum won't stand for this -
a matriarch doesn't tolerate her daughters breeding.
But when Swift finally emerges from her slumber...
...she only has eyes for her partner Brea.
Swift's belly is also noticeably rounder.
Looks like old Brea's still got it going on!
This will be her 15th litter, and her third this year.
Now nine years old,
Swift is nearing the end of her breeding life,
so this litter will be extremely important.
For her errant daughter,
life within the family is about to get difficult.
If her mother forcefully evicts her,
the stress will very likely kill her unborn pups.
For Epsilon to stand any chance of becoming a mother,
she may have to take her own decisive action.
In neighbouring Hakuna Matata territory,
Flint's younger brother, Belphegor
has slipped quietly away from the rest of the group.
For boys, coming of age in the Kalahari happens away from home.
To find a mate,
Belphegor must try his luck with another family.
As more matriarchs become pregnant,
they'll start to evict their older daughters...
so, there could be plenty of potential partners out there.
It means travelling alone in open country...
and taking your chances with predators.
But brave Belphagor is undeterred.
After an hour on the move, he arrives at his family's stolen burrow.
Now occupied by arch enemies, the Oo-boon-too
Maybe one of Daisy's ladies stole his heart
during the recent battle.
Could it be Ricky?
The Native?
Maybe the lovely Wren?
Perhaps even the matriarch herself!
Maybe not.
But before he can introduce himself to the girls,
he has the usual tiresome hurdle to overcome...
Scar.
And the rest of the Oo-boon-too boys.
If they catch him, they could kill him.
They've already seen off Belphagor's brother Shandy,
so Scar is in no mood for any more chancers trying their luck.
Oldest sons Rupert and Michel patrol the area.
While adopted Mr Worldwide
deploys ground-level deterrents...
with a generous swipe of his anal scent gland.
Belphegor will need a cunning plan to get past this lot.
On Swift's patch, an opportunity has arisen
for the youngest members of the family - Rollo, Ragnar and Floki
to learn about spotting danger.
On the manor, you either get smart or you get eaten
so they'd better learn fast.
Fortunately, the family's favoured sentry
is back to lend a hand.
Lilac.
The hopeless rover abandoned his romance with Sencha
and recently returned home to mum and dad.
Again.
His hawk eyes have already spotted
something in the distance.
The bark means don't panic - the threat is distant'.
A tawny eagle
is one of the biggest aerial dangers they face.
If the threat level changes, so will Lilac's alarm.
Lilac gives the same standby bark,
and everyone waits for the bird's next move.
The call is now moving threat!!'
but it's okay, the eagle flies away from the pups.
Alarm call lesson over, the family turns its attention
to the nearest boltholes;
now only needed as an escape from the sun.
Uncharacteristically, Swift's eldest daughters,
Bones, Crimson and Epsilon are keeping their distance.
They don't pitch in with everyone else.
But the three sisters are sticking together.
Could they be up to something?
In the north of the manor,
new rover Belphegor is still lurking around the Oo-boon-too.
But he seems unsure of his next move.
To get close to the ladies,
he needs to find a way to penetrate the family's defences.
Scar has Mr Worldwide and his older brothers
keeping guard over all the girls.
Except for one.
Daisy's niece, Wren is foraging alone...
...and spots the new rover.
She missed her chance with Shandy
when her cousin Ricky got in there first.
But if she can lure this rover away,
it could be second time lucky.
Belphagor takes the bait.
But he's new to the game
and makes the mistake of breaking cover too soon.
Michel spots him...
and lies in wait.
Belphagor walks right into his trap!
Oh, not again!
Wren's hopes are dashed once more.
Maybe it'll be third time lucky.
The darkening sky is not the long-awaited rain.
As the early evening temperature falls,
strong winds sweep through the parched landscape
whipping up a dust storm.
The sky is thick with sand,
making it increasingly difficult
for everyone to find their way home.
Sand-blasted families scatter
as they desperately seek refuge anywhere they can find.
Heaven help anyone left outside.
The following morning,
the dust has settled at the burrow
where the Whiskers took cover.
But Swift seems to sense that something's not quite right.
The family is missing 3 key members.
Bones, Crimson and pregnant Epsilon.
Everybody starts to search the area.
Perhaps they took shelter in a nearby bolthole.
Though not if it's already occupied.
And certainly not if the resident is a porcupine.
But as the day wears on, there's still no sign of them,
another explanation becomes possible.
The absent sisters may have chosen not to return.
All three are in their breeding prime
so were likely to leave at some point.
They may no longer have the protection of their family,
but together their chance of survival is reasonable.
And with Epsilon pregnant,
they have the foundations of a new group.
Their departure leaves their ageing mother
seriously down on numbers...
and short of childcare.
It also means that Pandi is the most senior subordinate left.
The very same Pandi who attacked Swift over winter
in a bid to steal dominance.
On Hakuna Matata territory,
the calm after the storm means
it's now safe for Flint's new pups to venture above ground.
Doting Aunt Sencha and older sister Azizi
gently usher them into the outside world.
For Weatherwax, Ogg, Greebo and Havelock,
there's a lot to take in.
They also witness the return of a more familiar figure.
It's their uncle Belphegor!
He may have messed up his first roving mission
but he survived the dust storm
and receives a hero's welcome from the rest of the boys.
There'll be plenty of opportunities
to try his roving luck again.
Flint's pups aren't going anywhere,
but their time for adventure will come soon enough.
While Belphegor's family celebrates his return,
Swift looks lost without her 3 missing daughters.
The family is late turning in for the night
at one of their regular burrows
and she's feeling the strain with her extra load.
And now there's another problem.
Something about the burrow doesn't smell right.
Usually, Bones or Crimson
would help their mother and investigate...
but now the responsibility falls to teenage son Beowulf.
He's in for a shock.
It's a rude awakening for the burrow's dust storm refugee,
but the startled bat-eared fox
isn't going to contest the issue.
It would help Swift if Pandi could now step up
and get the rest of the family to bed in an orderly manner.
But it seems that discipline has also departed.
Pandi does nothing to help her exhausted mother.
Could she be eyeing up another chance at the Whiskers crown?