The BBC’s Meerkat: A Dynasties Special aired heartbreak after heartbreak for meerkat mother Maghogho and her family tonight.
The episode, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, followed her quest to establish a clan in one of the harshest places on earth, the Makgadikgadi salt pans in Botswana.
In truly tragic scenes, all but one of Maghogho’s young were wiped out by predators overnight after they faced the threat of a jackal and an eagle.
Maghogho scoured the island the following morning to find that only one of her children had survived.
‘There is no sign of the others,’ Sir David narrated. ‘Now the hope of her dynasty falls on this one remaining pup.
‘Her family have let her down. If they are to succeed they need to work together, especially as they’re entering unfamiliar territory.’
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Despite the horrific events, there was more devastation on the way as Maghogho’s only surviving child was later wiped out by an almighty sandstorm.
The mother tried to alert the pup to follow her to safety, but it couldn’t hear her over the noise of the gust.
‘All you could do is wait and hold your breath,’ Sir David announced, as the little one tried to protect itself. But it wasn’t good news.
‘Life here is fragile,’ Sir David continued, as video footage showed the youngster’s lifeless body.
‘Maghogo’s last pup did not survive the storm. The family could not protect him from this, the harshest of lands. Without pups, there is no dynasty.’
Welp.
Meerkat: A Dynasties Special is available to stream on iPlayer.
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