1995-1999
The Hunters are created. A roving male named Hooligan teamed up with two females named Pansy and Flo and managed to stay together throuughtout the year. In 1996, the Hunters were named an official group when Pansy, the dominate female gave birth to the first litter born in the Hunters group. Only one pup survived. Later on that year, Pansy had another litter, fathered by Hooligan who was the dominate male. In 1997, the Hunters had over 10 members and Flo gives birth to her first litter born in the Hunters, also fathered by Hooligan. By 1998, the group has established a small territory and are starting to encounter thier new neighbors. They retreat from every encounter with their rivals due to being the smallest group in a 10 mile radious. By 1999, the Hunters have almost 20 members that are either sub adults or adults that are still present in the family.
2000
The Hunters have 23 members. In early November (3-7) Pansy gives birth to four female pups. The litter is attacked by the Ashantis group, led by their dominate female Marka. The Hunters are able to save the pups and Pansy orders a burrow move in the following week. Sylvia abandons Georgia while moving dens. The Hunters have a 50/50 chance of winning an encounter with the Ashantis group who are south east of the Hunters and loose most encounters with the Kinkajous, who are the largest group.
2001
Pansy evicts Flo and Sylvia along with several of her daughters and nieces because they are pregnant. Pansy allows Sylvia to return. The Hunters group split and later reunite a week and a half later. Pansy is overthrown by her daughter Sylvia and evicted. Hooligan leaves the Hunters to find a new mate. Sylvia evicts several of her rival sisters. There are no pups born this year after Pansy is overthrown.
2002
Three roving males join the Hunters. Crush, who is the heaviest, claims dominance over the resident Hunters males and his two brothers. Emilio, the second rover, frequantly leaves the Hunters to continue roving but often returned. Buckshot took up perminant residence in the Hunters. Kimberly tried to take him as a mate but was to young to concieve. The Hunters steadilly loose land to their rivals the Ashantis, who are the largest group. The Kinkajous are loosing members and the Hunters begin to win encounters with them. A puff adder gets into the Hunters burrow and kills one of Sylvia's pups. Kimberly saves the others and is bitten in the head by the snake. Sylvia moves the Hunters to a new burrow and Kimberly is abandoned. She rejoins the Hunters several days later after making a full recovery.
2003
Littermates Kimberly, Danielle and CSA are all evicted by Sylvia for beign pregnant. CSA aborts her pups and Kimberly and Danielle give birth to a total of seven pups in a bolt hole. The Hunters split while foraging and Sylvia's half of the Hunters mistake the evicted sisters' pups for ememy offspring and raid the burrow. CSA is predated while foraging. Kimberly and Danielle join the Hunters splinter group where Kimberly claims dominance over her sister Regan, who was the dominate female. The Hunters reunite and Sylvia and Kimberly compete for dominance and the younger of the two, Kimberly, wins. Buckshot also challenges Crush, the dominate male, and wins. Kimberly's first litter is killed by Sylvia and Sylvia is evicted. Later, the Hunters split and do no reunite. Kimberly and Buckshot are in charge of the smaller group. Sylvia claims dominance over the splinter group.
2004
The Hunters increase in numbers and win most fights with the Kinkajous, who now only number seven meerkats. There are several pups born this year belonging to Kimberly and Crush. Kimberly evicts most of her older sisters, only allowing Danielle and Helena to stay.
2005
The Kinkajous die off. The Hunters claim most of thier territory and begin encountering a new group called the Storms, who are decendants from the Kinkajous. The Hunters have about 20-30 members. The Ashantis and the Hunters encounters are less frequant.
2006
The Hunters move closer to the Ashantis group. They fight more fiercly and frequantly until the two mobs fight one battle for 30 minutes. The Hunters manage to claim most of the Ashantis' land. Buckshot is killed in this encounter. A roving male joins the Hunters and deposes Shy, Kimberly's dominant son, and becomes the new dominant male.
2007
There is an outbreak of desease at the Hunters. They begin rapidly dropping in numbers and eventually leave their territory. They take up new residence further south where they begin encountering the Cobras group, a splinter group from the Ashantis mob and the Fabulous, led by Sylvia (later her daughter Miss Queen) and the Storms. They carve out a new, three mile range in between their rivals. Kimberly only has one surviving litter this year. Her pups are attacked and killed by rivals and at one point, history repeats itself when a puff adder gets into their burrow and kills two out of three pups. Kimberly recieves a double-bite from the snake and dissapears for several days. Her daughter Keeper claims dominance and evicts Danielle. Kimberly returns and overthrows Keeper. She later evicted her pregnant daughters Hawkeyes and Keeper. Keeper returned to the Hunters. Danielle disspeared from the area to create the Moons group.
2008
The Hunters encounter their rivals and Kimberly's two pups, Chika and Panther go missing with their big sisters Russle and Keeper. Chika is killed while trying to return to the Hunters. The other three make it back to the main group. The Hunters manage to drive off the Fabulous group, now led by Miss Queen.
2009
Kimberly gives birth to a litter of three pups. The Hunters frequantly encounter the Cobras gang, seeing that the Fabulous moved further north and the Storms to the east. A black mamba gets into the Hunters burrow and Kimberly is fatally bitten while going to feed her new litter in May. Russle moves the Hunters to a new burrow. All of Kimberly's last pups survive and Russle becomes the new dominate female. The Hunters split and never reunite. Keeper becomes the dominate female of the splinter group, later named the Cherokees. There are no pups born belonging to Russle.
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NOTICE
The Hunters story from 2000-May 2009 is from the first Meerkat Tales book called Kimberly's Courage. Everything after Kimberly's death is not mentioned in the Meerkat Tales book. The Hunters live in Botswana and are not part of a research project.
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2010
Streak, the dominate male beside Kimberly, leaves the Hunters and joins the Cherokees. Nearly four months after Streak's departure, two rovers named Bygodo and Ziyzle migrate to the Hunters. Ziyzle claimed dominance over all the resident males and chases most of them off. Russle finally gives birth to her first litter of the year in July. Her next litter wa born in October and the litter was attacked by the Cherokees. They drug Kim, the babysitter, above ground and killed her and then went after the pups. The Hunters attacked the Cherokees, resulting in a battle that the Hunters managed to win with serious injuries to some. Russle then moved the Hunters to a new patch out of their normal range. Their new rivals are the Prissypops group.
All Known Members
Pansy Hooligan Flo
Makklii Ayran Monklulu