Zappa
Dominant female: Punk
Dominant male: Houdini
Named after musician Frank Zappa, the Zappa group formed in 2001, but did not appear in Meerkat Manor until the third series when the Whiskers became their new neighbours. Billed in the opening credits as "the neighbors from hell", the fourteen-members-strong Zappa have multiple run-ins with the Whiskers throughout the series. Led by dominant pair Lola and Frank, the Zappa have a quick fight with the Whiskers in the first episode of the third series, but are forced to flee from the much larger group. When the Whiskers invaded the Zappa territory in search of Flower's missing pups, they ended up confiscating a Zappa burrow, claiming the part of the land as their territory. The Zappa repeatedly tried to retake the stolen burrow, but all attempts ended in failure. In the middle of the series, while Lola was recovering from an injury, her sister Punk took over as dominant female. The same day, Frank was disposed by Houdini and forced out of the group. Punk proved to be a greater risk taker than Lola, and again led the Zappa in a futile attack against the Whiskers. After Flower's death, the Zappa tried to commandeer a burrow that the Whiskers had just moved in, but the Zappa were again defeated and chased off.
While there is a group named the "Zappa" within the Kalahari Meerkat Project, the Zappa shown in Meerkat Manor are primarily filmed using footage from a second research group called the Young Ones. However, scenes of the dominant couple are from the real Zappa group, as are the stories told about the group as a whole.
Read more about this topic: List Of Meerkat Manor Meerkats
Famous quotes containing the word zappa:
“You can’t be a Real Country unless you have A BEER and an airline—it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a BEER.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1993)
“Most rock journalism is people who can’t write, interviewing people who can’t talk, for people who can’t read.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1994)
“A composer is a guy who goes around forcing his will on unsuspecting air molecules, often with the assistance of unsuspecting musicians.”
—Frank Zappa (1940–1994)