Readers react to Chico, the only meerkat the L.A. Zoo

Last week we blogged about  Chico, the (only) meerkat in residence at the Los Angeles Zoo, and linked to Times Staff Writer Lynn Smith's story, detailing the concerns of many who believe Chico needs company.

Did we say many? We meant it. L.A. Unleashed received scores of comments, some of which we'd like to share:

Meerkats are not solitary animals and do not do well alone. Therefore if this zoo can not provide him the basic of needs then they don't deserve to have him. --Angie

I have personally interacted with Meerkats and know how gregarious, curious and social they are. Chico does not act like a happily socialized Meerkat. --Christine

Lone meerkats exist in only a few, usually dire, circumstances and their instincts lead them to attempt to re-integrate into existing groups because that is where they know they are safest. How difficult it must be to be alone with no opportunity for companionship or shared responsibilities when you have always had companions or family around you. Human interaction is not a replacement for instinct. --Susan

I only pray that our little Chico will make it to fellow earthlings sanctuary ( that i have made a donation to) for reasons like this. message to Chico..........I love you little dude good luck --Ann-Marie

See a trend here?

Here's a link to a video of the little guy.

--Alice Short

Photo: Jamie Pham

Does the L.A. Zoo's only meerkat need company?

Are you worried about Chico, the (only) meerkat in residence at the Los Angeles Zoo? Well, some animal activists (inspired by no doubt by "Meerkat Manor") believe he needs company. Times staff writer Lynn Smith reports:

Chico, the meerkat in residence at the Los Angeles Zoo, is alone.

Whether that is a tolerable state of affairs is being debated by zoo officials and animal activists whose support and affection for the small mammal has been fueled by cable television's popular “Meerkat Manor.”

As on the Animal Planet series, the meerkat is a highly social creature. The furry mammals forage together, serve as guards and baby sitters for each other, and even strategize about war tactics. And meerkats who violate clan rules suffer a most dire fate -- banishment.

Just as his TV brethren, Chico needs company, contend local activists.

"Kids ask, 'Where are his friends? He needs to have friends.' It's very sad," said Janelle Fisher of Sierra Madre, leader of the Chico Project, which has focused on the lone meerkat since his burrow mate died in January.

A website petition with about 900 signatures is hoping to persuade zoo officials either to get a few roommates for Chico or transfer him to another zoo, where he can make new friends. (It's at www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Help-Chico-live-like-a-meerkat-should.)

"They need companionship," said Fisher, who visits Chico every two weeks and likens the 9-year-old mammal's solitary condition to a virtual death sentence.

But zoo officials disagree. Meerkats can be managed as solitary animals with appropriate care, said Jason Jacobs, an L.A. Zoo spokesman. Other institutions, including the Denver Zoo, also tend to lone meerkats.

Jacobs said the zoo had talked with several institutions about relocating Chico, or obtaining other animals to join him, but he declined to name the institutions.

Photo: Heinrich Van Den Berg / Animal Planet

Meerkat Manor burrows for another season tonight

A friendly TV reminder for meerkat lovers: Tonight marks the series finale of "Meerkat Manor: The Next Generation."

We hear family history repeats itself when tragedy strikes at the Whiskers burrow and dominant male Zorro goes missing in action.

Channel and time: Animal Planet, 8:30, 9 and 9:30 p.m.

For a stroll down memory lane of what the season had in store and a possible spoiler, check out a post from earlier this summer.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Animal Planet

Meerkats on Emmys' red carpet?

In today's L.A. Times issue of The Envelope, which chronicles the awards season, Tom O' Neil writes that the animal lovers' favorite soap opera-tinged reality show "Meerkat Manor" may take home its first Emmy nomination for nonfiction series:

Despite media and viewer mega-hype, "Meerkat Manor" hasn't been nominated in this category yet, but it got a hefty push at the tail  end of Emmy eligibility and the start of the voting period as Animal Planet ballyhooed a special heart-tugging movie version focusing on the animals' matriarch -- the formidable Flower, otherwise known as the "Kalahari Desert Rose."

"Meerkat Manor" has serious competition though. O' Neil's short list of favorites:

"American Masters"
"Biography"
"Deadliest Catch"
"Iconoclasts"
"The Jewish Americans"
"Meerkat Manor"
"This American Life"

Will the stars, who reside in the Kalahari Desert, show up?

"We know some meerkats in Palm Springs," executive producer Mick Kaczorowski told The Times, "but they don't let them out...maybe live satellite."

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Animal Planet

'Meerkat Manor' back tonight on Animal Planet

Season 4 of the popular Animal Planet Series "Meerkat Manor" debuts tonight, and producers promise that the heartbreak of Season 3 will be healed by the "next generation" in the colony. Times staff writer Lynn Smith writes:

At the end of Season 3, fans of the pioneering docu-soap turned their emotional pain from the death of meerkat matriarch Flower into elaborate memorials on the Internet and elsewhere, having already mourned the losses of felled meerkats Mozart and Shakespeare. Starting tonight, viewers who dare return can see "Meerkat Manor: The Next Generation," which picks up the saga of the short, ever vigilant creatures in the Kalahari Desert. Full story here.

In Season 4, the tone is lighter and funnier, said Mick Kaczorowski, the show's executive producer. The music is younger and hipper. The new narrator, Stockard Channing, adds a sassy sort of humor to the life-and-death adventures of younger groups of the Whiskers, he said. Still, they have to cope with drought, disease and the Commandos, a rival gang.

Smith also mentions a one-time rumored hit-and-run accident in late April, post-production, that killed one of the show's stars. Animal Planet has now confirmed the claims.

For those who can't wait until tonight's show, check out info on a "Meerkat Manor" movie or The Times' photo gallery on the meerkats.

--Francisco Vara-Orta

Photo: Heinrich Van Den Berg/Animal Planet

'Meerkat Manor' -- the movie

Somehow, we missed this in the outcry over shark attacks, bear attacks and all things pit bull.... but Animal Planet plans to air the movie "Meerkat  Manor: The Story Begins" on Sunday, May 25, from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

The film, according to a press release, "tells the story of Flower before she became the Manor's famous first lady."

The movie, which debuted at this year's Tribeca Film Festival (!), "traces the transformation of Flower from a young, inexperienced meerkat into a remarkable leader who puts her family above all in the fight for survival in one of the harshest deserts on the planet." 

(Something about that makes us think of "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleading-Murdering Mom" starring Holly Hunter ... but perhaps we shouldn't go there.)

Whoopi Goldberg narrates "this unforgettable tale of heartbreak and joy."

-- Alice Short

Photo: John Brown/Associated Press