Meerkat Manor

by Timothy Hugh Clutton-Brock

MEERKAT MANOR is the true-life story of Flower, the heroine of the successful television series, and the dominant female of Whiskers group. Through words and superb photographs, the reader becomes closely involved in the life-or-death struggles, just like a soap opera, of this curiously attractive tribe. MEERKAT MANOR not only describes what meerkats do, but explains why they do it, providing important insights into the working of other animal societies, including humans. 'They look cute and their teamwork has led some to suggest they are ideal role models for humans, but ...if MEERKAT MANOR is billed as a soap opera, it is one scripted by Quentin Tarantino' Mail on Sunday.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 4, 2007

About the author

Timothy Hugh Clutton-Brock

- educated at the University of Cambridge where he was awarded a PhD in 1972.

Reviews

[Emilija]

2021 52 Book Challenge 37) An educational read.

This was a really enjoyable book. While it is billed as the life story of Flower, one of the dominant females of the Whiskers group of Kalahari Meerkats, it covers quite a lot of back story to the Whiskers Group and it also goes into depth about the reasons why meerkats do certain things and meerkat physiology, comparing it to other mammals in the Kalahari, most notably various breeds of mongoose and the naked mole rats. The last quarter of the book, which deals with Flower in the tv series Meerkat Manor felt very rushed. Whether that was because most people coming to the book will have watched the show, or because of rights, or whatever the reason is, it made the book finish on a little bit of a down, and I felt a little disappointed, especially considering how great the rest of the book was.

[Jeffrey]

An entertaining and informative read, with lots of pictures...the Meerkat Manor TV show might be even more entertaining, but this is a clearly written, very readable text if you're looking for a good grasp on meerkats with less of the anthropomorphizing that the TV show inherently attaches to the animals.

[Kayla]

I have had this book for eleven years and I have moved it six times. With that I decided it was high time I actually read it.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was well written by a biologist with a biologist’s perspective in mind. It was not a copycat of the TV series, instead the author/researcher went into the details of Flower’s life starting from her birth to her death. And he did it in a way that was interesting by hitting the high points of her life while including facts about meerkat behavior and social structure and then compared that social structure to other co-operative species. All of this kept me turning the pages. And the photography was also very well done.

The author also included what made him decide to study meerkats and included some of the tribulations of the study throughout the years.

[Caroline Hendry]

4.2 This was very well written, very informative, and extremely real. Do not expect a cute story about Simba’s best friends.

[Grace]

"Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari" has been one of the most enjoyable books that I have read in quite a while, with detailed information showcasing the life of Flower, The Dominant Female of the Whiskers and with extra information that temporarily weaves out of the story to describe why the meerkats act as they do and the similarities they have with other animals.
The detailed pictures of the Meerkats and of the Kalahari are also a very nice touch.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Animals; and if you happen to like this book then I would recommend that you should watch "Meerkat Manor" the TV Series.

[Killilea]

meerkats could not help but get a 5 star and is written by the field expert! although the focus is on the life and times of "The Desert Rose," the text constantly weaves out of story-mode into sections of highly detailed naturalism and the rigors of film-making in such an environment - this will be a good/bad thing depending on your mood.

[Micah Issitt]

This book is the only book about Meerkats available. For anyone interested in the formation of social networks, cooperative childrearing or the effect of predatory pressure, this book will be like porn for you. Nice pictures too.

[Melissa]

This book is great. I learned a lot about meerkats and also about behavior of other animals (including humans) as well. The book has great photos and does a great job explaining the life of Flower. I love meerkats!!

[Beverly]

It is my soap. And it does have good science behind this study group.

[Stacy]

Quite an informative book. I have not seen the tv series and really thought twice about this book at first but it was really good!

[Lisa van Zyl-Jones]

Interesting, a bit too text book ish, but very eye opening to what these fascinating little creatures get up to.