Previously on Meerkat Manor...
Finnick s attempted burrow move
put the Hakuna Matata pups in danger...
while pregnant Munchkin did everything she could
to avoid eviction.
Daisy had led her Ubuntu family back to the dry riverbed.
And The Whiskers returned to the water tank...
to avoid the perils of the summer sour grass...
only for Swift to face another challenge from her daughters.
When a butterfly flutters its wings,
it is said to effect change elsewhere.
Small ripples become waves with far-reaching consequences.
This year's summer rains have been frequent and intense,
bringing with them a storm of pregnancies...
...which each family leader must now deal with in her own way.
A new day dawns over Hakuna Matata territory.
Following their recent burrow drama,
Flint's five pups are growing in confidence
in the great outdoors.
But the rest of the family are focussed on events below ground.
There are even more new arrivals.
A slender-looking Munchkin gave birth overnight.
Her strenuous efforts to avoid eviction have paid off.
It's the first time that her older sister
has allowed anybody else the privilege of breeding.
It could just be lucky timing.
There's more than enough food
and for once, Flint is not pregnant herself.
The first 48 hours
will be critical for Munchkin's newborns.
Deep inside the burrow, they will need regular feeding.
And she's also wet nursing her older nieces and nephews.
To produce that much milk,
she must go and feed with the group.
Zahra is being left in sole charge of both litters.
She has excellent babysitting skills,
but is not lactating
so the family had better not be gone for too long.
Further north, along the dry riverbed,
the Ubuntu are preparing to do battle.
But, just for once, it's not with the neighbours.
Daisy's gang is wrestling with mother nature.
Of all the territories in the Manor,
Ubuntu's riverbed home has seen the most virulent growth
of irritating sour grass.
The acidic swathes are so thick and tall here,
that things are proceeding at a snail's pace.
Everybody is suffering from the caustic sap.
With the youngest family members bearing the brunt.
If Masukindt doesn't beat the infection,
she could lose her eye.
Daisy boosted her army with four pups born two months ago,
but she's already pregnant again.
And she's not the only one.
Eldest daughters Magalee and Mamoof
have clearly been caught out by rovers.
A pregnant matriarch and two expectant subordinates
surely spells trouble further down the line...
but the more immediate problem is dealing with all this grass!
Over at the Whiskers,
Brea is keeping guard as Swift and the rest of the family
busy themselves clearing out a bolt hole.
They've left the safety of their water tank burrow...
... and now the old boy seems on edge.
Something in the distance, perhaps?
But if he's keeping his eye out for roving males...
that horse has already bolted.
Daughter Laika has certainly been entertaining a visitor.
And by the looks of things, so have Hachi ...and Fly.
Holy Smoke!
The girls were only pups themselves a year ago.
And there's more!
Eldest daughters Luna and Bel Hurricane
have tell-tale bulges too.
That's five pregnant daughters!
It's like a Mommy and Me group!
Ironically the only one who isn't expecting is Swift!
She seems unusually relaxed about the situation.
Positively relishing, perhaps,
the prospect of becoming a grandmother.
It could be that she's happy to take a break
and allow her daughters to keep family numbers up.
She's not getting any younger afterall.
Or maybe she just doesn't have the energy for five evictions.
After a busy morning foraging,
Flint's family is enjoying a siesta in the shade.
But Munchkin... can't relax.
Her newborn pups, at home with the babysitter,
are due their next feed.
She daren't leave on her own,
and none of the others are in any hurry to get home.
But the new mum may be about to receive some help
in getting things moving...
from someone who just loves a wind-up.
That woke them up!
But there's still no sense of urgency.
Poor Munchkin.
Flint finally gets everyone moving again
but not towards home.
And there's nothing Munchkin can do about it.
Back along the riverbed,
The Ubuntu are still imprisoned in the sour grass.
And the usual trick for getting a better view -
scrambling up bushes or fallen logs - is just not cutting it.
To see anything at all, they need to get higher.
Much higher.
Fearlessness is an Ubuntu family trait.
Stan demonstrates how it's done.
Not bad for a ground-dweller.
Mr Worldwide and Stitch take it a bit more cautiously.
With only one good eye,
Masukindt finds it difficult to judge distance.
It's not just the pups struggling with arboreal life.
Magalee's extra baby weight makes defying gravity
even more tricky.
But the effort is worth it.
Up top is a welcome break from the misery of the grass.
The only thing is... what goes up...
...must also come down.
No harm done.
With the kids now grounded,
Daisy's family are back to square one.
On Swift's fertile patch, the pregnant Whiskers girls
are unearthing some of the desert's tastiest treats.
If she's quick, Laika could satisfy a lizard craving
before her brothers grab it.
But today, they all lack the killer instinct.
The very rotund Bel Hurricane...
...has no such qualms.
She's not sharing with anyone...
but her unborn pups.
And certainly not her younger pregnant sisters.
It's unlikely that all five subordinate litters,
born into the same family at the same time, will survive.
Each mother-to-be must protect her own.
So, after polishing off her first lizard,
Bel Hurricane grabs herself a second.
And devours the reptile's eggs.
Her sisters may not have a moody matriarch to worry about
but the young mums-to-be should be wary
of their ruthless older sister -
heir apparent to the Whiskers throne.
As the afternoon showers threaten to become a storm...
...Swift hurries everyone to the nearest bolt hole.
The family prepares to batten down the hatches.
There's no telling how long it will last.
And the safest place to be should be deep underground.
A solitary figure remains.
Mother-to-be Bel-Hurricane may not have much longer to wait.
As the heavens open, they unleash a deluge.
The Manor and beyond
has seen unusually heavy rains this season...
...and this storm lasts deep into the night.
When dawn breaks, calm has been restored.
And in a far-flung corner of Hakuna Matata territory,
part of the family is up exceptionally early.
It's Flint...
and her foraging group.
Caught far from home by the storm, they had no option
but to shelter overnight in this long-abandoned burrow.
Everyone's safe, but they desperately need to get home.
Flint's and Munchkin's pups have been without food for 24 hours.
A frantic Munchkin takes the lead
as the family starts their long journey home.
Back at the burrow,
babysitter Zahra and Flint's pups are also up.
Zahra is agitated and the pups are desperately hungry.
Where on earth is everyone?
The pups are badly dehydrated.
They need milk -
but there's no chance of anything from their big sister.
Flint must come home... soon.
Underground, the situation is even more desperate.
Without any nourishment,
Munchkin's tiny newborns may not have survived the night.
A mile or so to the east of the Manor...
...a very different disaster is unfolding.
After weeks of intense and sudden downpours
throughout the area,
the dry riverbed has begun to fill.
For the first time in 25 years.
And now the flood waters are heading
with unstoppable force towards the Manor.
Unaware of the approaching torrent,
Flint and the rest of the family
have travelled the length of their territory
in their desperate race home.
Where Zahra is beside herself.
She and the pups have all but given up hope...
until...
...at last!
Mum's home!
Munchkin heads below ground,
casting Flint's hungry pups aside.
She has only one concern.
She emerges only moments later.
And that can mean only one thing.
Her pups have not survived.
The excitement of the family reunion was short-lived.
But there are still hungry young mouths to feed.
For the sake of the family,
Munchkin dutifully puts her personal tragedy behind her
and tends to the needs of her nieces and nephews.
To the east...
the flood waters have reached the Manor.
The dry riverbed is transformed.
In some parts, the water is more than 13 feet deep.
The flood signals disaster for Daisy and the Ubuntu.
Their burrows are now well below the waterline.
And there's no sign... of the family.