Last time [maid] cat [pup] Swift and her family known as the whiskers decided to spend the night in a burrow belonging to their arch-rivals
the Kungfu family
Tragically Swift's cousin Ernesto was bitten by a snake his life was hanging in the balance
Cameraman Toby strong has been filming the unfolding drama in this past corner of the Kalahari desert
With venom potent enough to kill 10 men [this] brave little meerkat had managed to drag himself out of the burrow
But he was going downhill fast
This venom affects the nervous system breathing and heart [a] [nestor] is suffering huge
Did he swift seems aware of his pain?
And he's trying to comfort her cousin, but there's nothing she or any of them can do
This is a battle. He's gonna have to fight alone
Living in such [a] desolate place. They have their own challenges to face every day especially finding enough to eat
[over] [night] [Swift] like all the meerkats has lost [5%] of her body weight simply keeping me
So after sunning themselves the family have no choice, but to head off foraging and abandoned poor, Ernesto
Practically blind and almost paralyzed he desperately tries to follow me
But he slowly drifts behind
over the years I've seen
Different animals died and they tend to take themselves away on Their own
All alone [a] [nester] finds a quiet place to curl up
This is the grim reality for meerkats living alongside such dangerous predators means from time to time
They do get bit
And lives are lost
but for the rest of the whiskers life has to go on
Swift and her brother and sisters are the future of the family so they have to keep foraging
Swift is certainly growing up fast and getting more and more independent every day
Getting to grips with the varied diet that desert provides
lizards
Giant millipedes and
Camel spiders and burrowing skinks everything is eagerly consumed even when hard to swallow
Every day sees new lessons learned and new encounters
It's now been two days since
Ernesto got bitten and the whiskers have gradually been making their way back to the safety of their own territory
Having been away for a few days the group of Vigilance perimeters
They see a lone figure it could well be a scout from one of their rival groups
They've spotted him
here come whiskers
[switch] there and crow
They're going going going going going [unlost] [in] full moon
The family have their tails up and are primed and ready to go into back
But when they reach the lone meerkat they get a fantastic surprise
It's an ester by some miracle. He's still alive. We're back together
They're smelling him they're sending him
They recognize him
[swiftly] writing now
Emily [ah]
That's amazing [I]
Can't believe it
We left
That male bitten by a cobra two days ago. I truly thought
That was him dead. I haven't seen him for two [days]
And he's made back to the group
That's astonishing
The family are reunited and for ernesto. This is the best possible outcome, but the whiskers have to remain vigilant
With the sick adults and Swift and her brother and sisters in turn if there was a rival attack now the result could be tragic
But for now everyone is safe and enjoying being home once more