Dairy of the Meerkat

Dairy of the Meerkat is written by Aniju Aura. Dairy of the Meerkat is a more in-deth version of Meerkat Manor told from the point of views of the meerkats themselves. The meerkats are referred by their Meerkat Manor names rather than their real names. I would like it if no one else took the idea of writting a dairy for the meerkats for the moment, as I don't like it when people copy.

Dairy Entrée: Day 1

Shakespeare

The first time I saw that litter was when mother allowed us into the pups’ den. Mother was always particular with not allowing anyone see the new pups except for father till the next morning. There were four pups like usually, two females and two males. It always seemed like they group real fast within the first month of life. Before I knew it they were already outside the burrow walking around. As always mother left the pups in the care of the babysitters before we took to our daily foraging. I had already taken by turn at babysitting so I had to let someone else take charge for the day. I followed mother and father out to forage.

It had only been a few hours and the sun was not even at its highest point in the sky when I got this feeling like I should head back to the burrow. I heard something but I was not quite sure what so I made up my mind I would go back and check. My sister laughed at me and called me a worrywart. I ignored her and headed back towards the burrow none the less. When I came back from foraging I had found that my young teenage siblings had taken one of the pups away from the burrow. It was young Mitch, my little brother. He was taken by Kinkaju out to have some fun with but they soon grew bore of Mitch and left him to play a game. Kinkaju was always a bit of a troublemaker like her father but she had meant no harm. I probably should have scolded them but it was more important that I get Mitch back to the burrow before mother found out.

A little later I had made my way back to the foraging party after leaving the pups in the care of the babysitters. When I had return I discovered that the family had been mobbing a snake for quite some time. I decided to help. I made my way to the front of the group and discovered it was a puff adder. This kind of snake could easily kill a pup if it had found the burrow. It was a good thing I had taken Mitch back home when I did. The whole family were making spit calls and bobbing their heads up and down to confuse the snake and drive it away however it wasn’t budging. I decided to get a little close to see if I could convince it to leave. In a flash of an eye I was jerked to the side and felt a sharp pain in my neck and thin. It was all over in a second, I did not know what had happen. All I could do was crawl way from the scene.

It was the worse pain I had felt in my whole life. I had been bitten by the double strike of the puff adder. There was nothing anyone could do and the family was busy with the snake that no one noticed I was in trouble. I had made my way under a bush; I didn’t want to be spotted by a predator. It was all I could but lay there in pain. Mother had decided it was better to leave the snake alone and move on. The family started heading out again. I had to decide to go with them or head back to the burrow. I decided I wouldn’t make it on my feet if I had to spend the rest of the day with the family. I would be spotted by a hawk or a jackal for sure. I would have to head back home. Despite the pain I forced myself up. It was the longest trip back to the burrow I ever had to make. I had to spot several times to rest but I could not stay out in the open for long. I had to keep pushing myself forward towards home, towards safety. I was sure I would not make it.

Tosca

I knew mom wouldn’t be happy with me again but I couldn’t help myself. Carlos is such a sweet talker; he really knows how to knock a girl off her feet. Mom hip slammed me a few times but she hadn’t evicted me. She knew that I was pregnant. It’s too late to do anything now. After foraging I decided to try and make myself useful by taking a sentry post. I saw Shakespeare leaving the group for some reason. It was weird because my little brother wasn’t that big of a rover. He came back around a while along with the teenagers. That Kinkaju, my little sis, was a lot like me when I was young.

Mozart was sticking by me for some reason. She and I were often mom’s first targets for eviction. I think Mozart was pregnant too. Carlos was a ladies man alright. I felt a little jealous but there was nothing I could do. Rovers, got to love them but you also got to hate them. I heard an alarm called and saw everyone mobbing a bush. It seemed we had found a deadly puff adder. I wasn’t going near that thing because I couldn’t risk my unborn pups. Instead I stood back and kept watch incase a bird or a jackal came by. Mom and dad were right up front along with my brother Shakespeare. I saw the whole thing. The double bite, the fast movement and Shakespeare’s shocked look on his face. He crawled off under a bush while everyone else continued mobbing the snake.

Mozart

I was up front with mom and dad, almost face to face with the puff adder. I never liked those things but we had to live alive side them. I wanted mom to see me that I was helping. The snake kept hissing and puffing up. I moved back but bumped into whoever was behind me. I bobbed my head up and down and spit at the adder. The puff adder struck again and I jumped back. Everything was a blur but I saw someone get pulled away from me. I think it was Shakespeare.

I moved back out of the crowd because I didn’t want to get bitten either. Kinkaju and Daisy moved into my position. I didn’t see where my brother went. Soon mom called off the attack on the puff adder, a wise choice since it wasn’t budging. Kinkaju still furiously mobbed it to the bitten end. Mom started to lead the group away back out for some more foraging. I saw Tosca was pregnant and mom hip slammed her again. I worried my secret would be revealed soon too and I would suffer the same wrath as Tosca was.

When we finally started heading back to the burrow mom hip slammed me too but I think it was more for asserting her dominance than her actually knowing. I think she was more focused on Tosca than me. Back at the burrow I groomed mom and Tosca and watched the sun set. I wondered where it goes at night. Does it go into a burrow somewhere to sleep too? Mom’s pups, my little brothers and sisters were climbing all over mom. Maybe soon I would have pups of my own too but I had to worry about what mom though. When I went to bed, Tosca disappeared into a burrow to have her pups. I saw Shakespeare climb into the burrow’s entrance and lay down.