Animal Planet Begins Production on Third Season of Meerkat Manor

SILVER SPRING,
March 12: Animal Planet, in partnership with Oxford Scientific Films, has begun
production on the 13×30-minute third season of the series Meerkat Manor, which follows a family of meerkats in Africa.

The third season,
launching later this year, will be produced entirely in high-definition, and
will be launched at this year’s MIPTV. Southern Star
International distributes the series internationally.

Produced by Caroline Hawkins for
Oxford Scientific Films and executive produced by Mark Wild for Animal Planet
International, Meerkat Manor captures
the everyday life—from squabbles to love affairs—of a unique family
of meerkats known as the Whiskers, who live in Africa’s Kalahari Desert. The
first season premiered on Animal Planet International in September 2005. Since
2004, Animal Planet has had access to the Meerkat Kalahari Project,
which was filmed in cooperation with Cambridge University and renowned
behavioral ecologist Professor Tim Clutton-Brock.

“Animal Planet has been following the same family of
meerkats for more than three years in Meerkat Manor, which has allowed us to tell the stories of these unusual
and rarely-seen creatures from their own point of view, with unprecedented
depth and continuity,” said Phillip Luff, the SVP and GM of Animal
Planet International. “The series is now a global phenomenon, receiving
exceptional ratings in markets around the world as well as critical acclaim and
a variety of industry awards since it first premiered in 2005.”