The Kung Fu Meerkats

Saturday, October 15, 2016 at 3 PM on CBC-TV

Episode available within Canada only.
This title is not available online.

Meerkat pups Squirt and Weeny are  part of the longest running animal behaviour study ever. This film tells the story of the study – and follows first months of the pups.

Photo: Virginia Quinn/Brent Leo Smith

Squirt, Weeny and their proud mum Kleintjie are part of the Kung Fu Meerkats of Kuruman in the Kalahari. These meerkats are part of a study run by Cambridge Professor Tim Clutton Brock. He started his work there two decades ago. It’s now a huge project with 20
young volunteer graduates and field scientists trying to unravel the mysteries of meerkat behaviour.

Over the years, the meerkats gradually let the scientists into their world, and began to reveal the secrets of how and why they co-operate as a group. The project has discovered that meerkats have distinct personalities (including a dark side), language, teach their young, solve problems, and have traditions.

Kleintjie’s pups, Squirt and Weeny have been born into some of the toughest drought conditions Tim Clutton Brock has seen in the Kalahari.  But with almost 30 meerkats in the Kung Fu group, the pups’ chances of making it through the first critical six weeks look strong.

Credits (Click to expand)

The Nature of Things
with
David Suzuki
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Kung Fu Meerkats

produced and directed by
Virginia Quinn

writer
Nigel Levy
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photography
Ralph Bower

additional photography
Riaan Venter
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editor
Whetham Alpress

composer
Daniel Mulhern
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dubbing Mixer
Nerys Richards

colourist
Tim O’Brien

online editor
Jonathan Field
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assistant producer
Sara Moralioglu

production team
Peter Collins
Joseph Fenton
Brent Leo-Smith
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production accountant
Christian Scott

production manager
Sarah Winter

production coordinators
Kate Laurie
Katie Pearson
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production consultant
Caroline Hawkins

the producers wish to thank
the Staff at Kuruman River Reserve

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scientific consultant
Professor Tim Clutton-Brock

executive producers for OSF
Clare Birks
Jeremy Bradshaw
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for the BBC

production co-ordinator
Cassy Walkling

production manager
Kate Gorst

executive producer
Chris Cole
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OSF logo
an Oxford Scientific Films production in Association with Andaman Media
for BBC and Animal Planet

part of the Boom Pictures Group
Boom Pictures Logo

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Natural World (logo)
series producer
Roger Webb

BBC (static blocks)  Bristol
 

bbc.co.uk/naturalworld

© BBC MMXIII
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for the nature of things


online editing
Adam Champ

associate director
Renée Moreau

re-recording mix
Ron Searles
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for the nature of things

resource coordinator
Megan Beeckmans

unit production manager
June Hall
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senior manager
Documentary Unit
Wilma Alexander

senior producers
FM Morrison
Caroline Underwood
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for the nature of things

executive producer
Sue Dando

executive director
Documentary Programming
Mark Starowicz
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The Nature of Things
with David Suzuki

produced by
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

cbc.ca/natureofthings

 

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