 Flower's four-year reign ended late in the third series when she died after being bitten in the head by a Cape cobra while protecting a litter of newborn pups that were her own.Flower's death caused a backlash against the "Meerkat Manor" producers, with fans wondering why the film crew and researchers did not attempt to save the meerkat.The producers and researchers argued that doing so would violate the agreement under which "Meerkat Manor" was filmed, and that the primary purpose of the Kalahari Meerkat Project is to study "...the breeding success and survival of individuals and ... the factors that effect [sic] reproduction and survival."