Haskee Mansion

**Haskee Mansion** is a nature-docu television programme produced by a Whelandian crew and aired from November 22 007 to January 22 011 PCE. It was produced by Zandari Scientific Films for Discover Wildlife! International, documenting the antics and daily adventures of various haskees studied by the Ambi Desert Haskee Project. Haskees live in matriarchal groups led by a dominant couple, who have nearly exclusive mating and breeding rights. The remainder of the group are usually their offspring and relatives. The primary focus of the show was on a group called the Masekalians, one of the strongest research groups. There were also episodic appearances by three neighboring rival groups of the Masekalians – namely Platinumi, Katumba and Rocketer. The small and friendly Pebbles group was featured in a single episode without any individual member name mentioned. The other groups which were shown were two colonies created by evicted Masekalian members, the short-lasting Kamirsky group and the more successful Conquistador group. In 22 021, a reboot called *Haskee Mansion: Prosperity of the Progeny* aired, following descendants of the individuals originally featured.

### List of episodes

#### Season 1 - 14 episodes

*Filmed February to September 22 007, aired November to February 22 008.*

1.01 "Killing Game" - Masekalia Mob is introduced to the viewers. Dominant female Fanny's three teenage children Praline, Cookie and William kidnap their young brother Kenny, bully him, and eventually abandon him in the middle of the heated desert where he seems to be awaiting death.

1.02 "The Enemy Within" - Subordinate female Lazania is rearing her seven pups, but they are targeted by Alex, who incorrectly thinks they were fathered by his rival Dagger. After Lazania comes out to forage off, Alex seals her pups inside their burrow where they start to starve and suffocate.

1.03 "A Challenging Day" - Nomadic male Johnson wanders around the burrows, flirting with adolescent female Madelline. Later, the family finds a venomous snake sleeping in one of their burrows and Norman chases it away. In the evening, the mob has a stand-off with an enemy clan called Platinumi.

1.04 "Mind the Oven" - Seeing the mansion overrun with parasites, Fanny initiates a rebuild. With Lazania's seven pups still too young to travel on their own, they are carried by other members of the mob. A falcon attacks and the carriers drop two of the pups in panic, leaving them to scorch to death.

1.05 "A Family Reunion" - A Masekalian foraging party encounters a Platinumi squad which they manage to repel. Adolescent male Cookie is traumatized and flees, but instead of his natal mansion he escapes to a family called the Pebbles. Later, Pebbles help Masekalians defeat the Platinumi again.

1.06 "Cousin Rivalry" - Fanny's son Norman violently competes for the role of the main defender of the mob against Tartar, the oldest son of Fanny's deceased sister Foam.

1.07 "Rite of Passage" - Fanny's son Norman leads his young siblings Kenny, Chantelle, Saldana and Sierra for an entire day in the open desert to see if they are able to survive and thus if they are smart enough to be contained in the family.

1.08 "When Big Boys Clash" - While the mob is out foraging, rivals Alex and Dagger serve as sentries. Alex hurls at Dagger and rips through his thigh, taking the leadership of the mob and abandoning Dagger. Dagger crawls into a bolt hole to heal his wound, but a Platinumi mob party comes nearby.

1.09 "Art of Leadership" - While the mob is out foraging, they split into two. Most of the adults stay near Fanny, with the other group mainly made of teenagers and only two adults, Lazania and Alberta. They grow sick of their new role and the splinter group is attacked by two martial eagles.

1.10 "Remote Lover" - Johnson comes to Masekalian burrows several times in just over a week, impregnating Madelline, Lara and Alberta. Alex and Dagger catch his scent but always fail to actually intercept him, infuriating him.

1.11 "Fanny’s Choice" – Lara and Madelline both give birth. The arrival of new pups is generally ignored in the mob and females take care of their pups by themselves, starving in the process. Fanny kills Lara's pups, but spares Madelline’s. Norman babysits, allowing his sister to finally forage off.

1.12 "The Day of Big Mutiny" – Lazania’s sons Mozart and Chestnut take over babysitting, but quickly get bored and leave. Heavily pregnant Alberta steps in to kill Madelline’s pups and evict Madelline from the mob. Eventually Alberta is removed from the group by Fanny along with Lazania.

1.13 "It's Baby Season" – Fanny finds a weakened Madelline and re-accepts her into the mob. To comfort her, Fanny lets Madelline babysit her four newly born offspring. Abroad, Alberta gives birth to her litter, but her and Lazania alone aren't enough to keep the pups safe and they are killed by Platinumi.

1.14 "The Loudest Thunder" – On their way to forage off, Masekalians nearly enter an area with a pack of falcons, but young Kenny saves the day. In the evening, Platinumi attack the Masekalian mansion where Norman babysits Fanny’s pups. Fanny rescues her young offspring and leads a successful attack forcing Platinumians into a retreat.

#### Season 2 - 12 episodes

*Filmed March to September 22 008, aired November to February 22 009.*

2.1 “A Tale of Four Brothers” - Fanny’s newest litter of four males (Lenny, Nimble, Ra, Hitch) strays well away from the center of Masekalian territory and eventually they get trapped in mobile sands, exposing themselves to ever-watching predators.

2.2 “Shortage of Girls” - Platinumi group remains in disarray due to having a lot of rampaging young males in their mansion. Three invade the Masekalian burrow and nearly mount Madelline. Back in the colony, the new dominant male, Masekala-bound Quartzite, tries to mount matriarch Martina.

2.3 “The Dark Side of Learning” - Fanny’s adolescent son Kenny lies critically ill after being bitten by a venomous snake when he tried to play with it.

2.4 “Reborn Hope” - Kamirsky group shows they have potential to thrive with births of two Johnson-fathered litters, but Lazania kills sister Alberta’s pups as a dominance mark.

2.5 “Two Steps from Disaster” - Fanny gives birth to a four-strong male litter again, but Alex knows these are his rival Dagger’s pups and tries to kill them.

2.6 “House of Katumba” - In this episode, the daily life of the Katumba family is featured: their mansion, foraging and babysitting.

2.7 “Rare Feast” - The same day Fanny’s two tiny pups first leave the burrow, Masekalians capture some rather rare food - turtle eggs - but don’t know how to crack them.

2.8 “Tramping Tramp” - Dry season forces Fanny to take a longer route to foraging point, but her pup Tramp stays behind with his ailing leg.

2.9 “The Captive One” - Platinumian young males invade Masekalian burrows again, but one of them, named Robin, traps himself in a narrow chamber and is held captive.

2.10 “The Assault” - Katumbas directly invade Masekalian burrows with reinforcement from their entire family.

2.11/2.12 “The Great Famine” - Dry season is longer than normal. Fanny, who has just given birth, is very aggressive and takes most of remaining food for herself. This motivates her daughter Praline to lead some haskees from the burrows into the open desert. However, nobody knows that Praline, Saldana and Sierra are pregnant with some nomad males.

#### Season 3 - 14 episodes

*Filmed March to September 22 009, aired November to February 22 010.*

3.01 "Miss Naughty"– After losing her maiden litter in the season two finale, Saldana is in estrus again and wants to sire new offspring. She strikes out on her own away from the mob, but is tracked down by her watchful mother Fanny.

3.02 "Dagger Power" –  All adult and adolescent Masekalian males except Dagger temporarily leave the mob to seek outside breeding opportunities. While Dagger mates with Fanny, he senses a scent of four young nomads of Platinumi origins and prepares to fight them by himself.

3.03 "Growing Up is Hard to Do" – Fanny gives birth to six pups, the biggest litter she ever gave birth to. One of the pups is left in an abandoned burrow and another is killed by a falcon on the maiden foraging trip, leaving four. The surviving female (Michaela) violently grows dominant over her brothers.

3.04 "Finding Equilibrium" – A Masekalian raiding party invades the Platinumi Mob, which is now led by new dominant female Alessandra, and try to kill subordinate female Pancake's pups only to end up sparing one. Saldana and Kenny consider adopting it, but eventually leave it behind to bake to death.

3.05 "Current Threats" – An unfamiliar nomad appears in the mansion. Praline follows his scent trail to investigate, arriving in a seemingly derelict recently-built mansion. The mansion's owners, a mysterious new clan, are then shown raiding the Katumba Mob and killing their pups.

3.06 "Childhood's Over" – While the Masekalian citizens forage, a wildfire sets off and quickly spreads through the scrubland, forcing the haskees to try to seek refuge far away from home. Meanwhile, babysitters Madelline, Amira and Tramp are waiting in the mansion for them to return while taking care of Fanny's four young pups.

3.07  "Water Search" – The dry season is at its worst and the Masekalian waterhole runs dry, forcing Masekalians into a frantic search of a new one. They eventually split into three roughly equal groups led by Fanny, Praline and Cookie respectively to increase the likelihood of finding water.

3.08 "The Beginning of End" – Likewise, Kamirsky Mob are struggling to find water and dominant male Johnson sets off alone to find some, but his family is attacked by the Rocketer Mob. He returns with water only to find everybody except for Lazania and Chantelle either dead or mortally wounded.

3.09 "Demise Looming" – Due to Chantelle bearing a spinal injury after the Rocketer attack and Lazania taking care of her, it's up to Johnson to collect water and food for his surviving mates. He grows weak and dies in a bolt hole one night, leaving Lazania and Chantelle even more vulnerable.

3.10 "Fiery Finish" – After the events of the two previous episodes, Lazania is the last surviving member of the Kamirsky Mob. She meets Jason, a male from Rocketer Mob, the clan which decimated her family. They spend a night together, but are attacked by a fox after coming out to forage and separated as a result.

3.11 "Family Divided" – Saldana and Sierra both give birth to new litters, totaling eight pups. Fanny considers killing the pups but opts against it, to avoid disturbing her own pregnancy. Instead, she initiates a move to a new mansion, leaving Saldana, Sierra and the pups to fend off alone.

3.12 "The Graduates" – With Fanny now heavily pregnant and getting ready to give birth, her four teenage pups Michaela, Sparky, Sparkle and Timber have to learn how to be useful for the whole mob's good. Sparky and Sparkle are taught how to serve as sentries while Michaela and Timber become adept babysitters once Fanny has given birth.

3.13/3.14 "Our Darkest Hour" - Rocketer Mob invades the Masekalian mansion when they are foraging, only encountering babysitters Madelline and Kenny and Fanny’s four young pups. Madelline eventually flees to warn the family while Kenny seals himself and the pups in a burrow. Hogan, Praline and Tramp are all injured during a futile Masekalian counterattack. Masekalians invade the Katumba Mob and take over two burrows as their temporary home while they prepare another counterstrike to rescue Kenny and the pups.

#### Season 4 - 14 episodes

*Filmed March to October 22 010, aired October to January 22 011.*

4.01 “Increasing Chances” – An overview of all the mobs after the wet season: Finn has become the new dominant male of the Platinumi Mob; Galaxy and ZipZap are still the dominant pair of the Katumba Mob; Dagger visits the Rocketer Mob and solicits copulation with Cortana; Conquistador Mob has been joined by two new adult males and is thus set for expansion in territory and numbers.

4.02 “United Forever” – While Dagger tries to solicit copulation with Fanny, multiple nomads appear around the mansion, with several bravest ones even entering it and mounting some of the females forcing Dagger to run them off. The presence of vindictive Katumba and Conquistador Mobs nearby isn’t helping either.

4.03 “The Good, The Bad and The Evicted” – Heavily pregnant Cortana in the Rocketer Mob grows increasingly disturbed and starts to evict the remaining adult females in the group one-by-one.

4.04 “Praline’s Turn” – With Fanny and Madelline both giving birth and the Masekalian mansion becoming overwhelmed with parasites, Praline has to take a temporary position as an acting commander-in-chief and initiate a move as well as take care of the entire mob. Fortunately, she has her stepdad Dagger to help her out.

4.05 “Balance of Population” – With Saldana and Sierra now both heavily pregnant in the Conquistador Mob, they get very aggressive towards each other and eventually Sierra is evicted from the group and has to fend off for herself in a bolt hole. She is joined by William and some of the youngsters, but they will have to endure some Masekalians nearby.

4.06 “A Tale of Hogan” – A nomad from the Katumba Mob is run off by a squad of seven males, but Hogan continues to pursue the intruder even after leaving the natal territory. He follows him all the way to the Katumba Mob’s mansion, where he tries to force Galaxy into submission and thus take control of the mob, but is defeated and driven away by ZipZap.

4.07 “The Hatchet” – Michaela is bitten by a young desert viper. She appears to be left for dead as the mob abandons her, but her brother Sparky eventually returns and takes care of her before she is able to walk again. Meanwhile, after Sierra, William and others return to the Conquistador Mob, the group carries out several coordinated strikes.

4.08 “Journey’s End” – Tramp takes his younger siblings Ella, Ariel, Craig and Beaker into the desert to complete their rite of passage. They are traced by Fanny. Craig and Beaker get left behind and are attacked by a fox. Fanny defends them and sustains a heavy bite on her skull, resulting in her death several days later and leading to everyone’s great distress.

4.09 “A Mansion of Tension” – After Rocketer Mob’s dominant male Aragon is apparently predated, his brother Scorro reluctantly takes up the position of the dominant male only for his long-lost brother Butcher to suddenly come back into the mob. With Cortana opting against picking sides, the two have to solve the issue by themselves.

4.10 “Dad’s Hit Squad” – Dagger grows heavily depressed because of long-time mate Fanny’s death and is not at all helped by the fact that technically he is now the mob’s leader because of Praline still adjusting to her leadership role. To obtain some adrenaline, Dagger takes Kenny, Lenny, Nimble and Ra for an expedition to the Rocketer Mob.

4.11 “A Tale of Rita” – The episode tells the story of Fanny’s niece, a subordinate female called Rita. It shows several events from the previous episodes as flashbacks, viewed from Rita’s perspective. Despite haskees such as Michaela and Rita’s littermate Hogan trying to comfort her, Rita eventually leaves the mob and is hit and killed by a motorboat.

4.12 “New Stars” – Conquistador Mob is growing more and more aggressive. They attack the Masekalians but Praline, who has already developed a lot as a leader, leads a wise battle to fend them off. Later they attack the Katumba Mob; killing three of four pups, heavily wounding dominant male ZipZap and driving the mob away from their mansion.

4.13 “Wide Horizons” – Cookie makes a tough decision and permanently leaves the mob to become a nomad, with Hogan, Kenny, Lenny, Nimble and Ra doing the same. Cookie, Hogan and Lenny intend to take over the Katumba Mob which temporarily resides in a shallow bolt hole after events in the previous episode, but are repelled. Kenny, Nimble and Ra intend to take over the Platinumi Mob and appear to have succeeded as they manage to pin Finn down.

4.14 “Down We Go Together” – Praline is crippled by a falcon and is challenged for leadership in the mob by Propulsion. While most of the haskees watch the situation developing, Michaela, Timber, Ella, Ariel, Craig and Beaker end up trapped in a small chamber together with a deadly snake. Simultaneously, a big storm engulfs the area. Timber sacrifices himself in a suicidal fight against the snake while Michaela evacuates her siblings through an emergency exit. Above ground, where the soil has now become incredibly slippery from the water income, Propulsion is eventually wounded and evicted by Praline, Madelline, Amira, Patricia and Purity. Michaela gives birth to a litter several days later and the pups are allowed to live by Praline.

### Featured haskees

Note that the individuals described below are only the ones most pivotal and featured on the show, not all haskees introduced.

#### Masekalia members

The Masekalians are the primary focus of the series. They are one of the most dominant haskee groups known to the Ambi Desert Haskee Project. They own a territory of 2 km^2 in the Silver Peaks Reserve which is very abundant in terms of edible plants and insects. The group came into existence in 21999, when four evicted females from Hobgoblin group were met by a male called Herr Hoffman, who had just been returned to the wild after being rescued as an infant from poachers and raised in a wildlife sanctuary. Augusta asserted her dominance over the three other females and held it until her death in 22001. After she died, Susanne took dominance and evicted some females who formed the Pebbles Mob. Eight nomadic males hit the Masekalian burrow in 22002, wreaking havoc as the territory was overcrowded by fully grown adult males who sought access to a limited number of females. Herr Hoffman was killed, along with two other males, as Quartzite eventually won the gigantic struggle for authority and paired himself with „widow queen” Susanne. He evicted three of the remaining five males, bringing much-needed stability for the family. Quartzite then lost dominance to one of the two remaining males, Alex, and was banished to Platinumi. Two of Susanne’s daughters, Foam and Fanny, replaced their mother as the matriarch in 22004 before vying for the leadership themselves, a contest which Foam appeared to have won by early 22005. However, during a period of famine in July of the same year, she tried to lead the group to a new watering place and was fatally run over by a motorboat. Fanny then became the leader, as two remaining ripe males, Alex and Dagger, battled for the status of alpha male. The conflict was ongoing as Haskee Mansion’s filming started, with the males exchanging the dominant rank every few months. Dagger eventually won in early 22008, and evicted his rival. Fanny remained the matriarch for most of the programme’s running before dying from fox bite wounds in the final season. She was replaced by her dominant daughter Praline. Below are descriptions of the most heavily featured Masekalians in the series:

##### Fanny

Born on March 15, 22003 to Susanne and Alex, **Fanny** became a dominant and formidable matriarch of Masekalians after her littermate Foam’s death in July 22005. During her life, she gave birth to forty pups in ten different litters. She reigned as the dominant female for nearly five full years and as such had the right to kill any pups belonging to other females. She also had the ability to evict any other member of the colony. She only used this right once, evicting her oldest daughters Lazania and Alberta when she saw them as a threat to her position as the leader of the family. Though Fanny was known to not be the most mellow mother possible, she was very attentive to her pups and sometimes risked her life to protect them. She perished in June 22010 from complications coming from fox bite wounds, attained while facing the much larger creature to protect her litter of 3-month-old pups.

##### Alex

**Alex** was the biggest Masekalian in the series and was recognisable by a large scar across his forehead. He was one of the eight nomadic males that struck the Masekalian burrow in 22002 apparently out of nowhere and was an active participant in the domestic war that erupted in the colony thereafter. In very late 22002 or very early 22003, he displaced one of his comrades, Quartzite, to become the alpha male of the colony and sired some pups. Since August 22005, he was regularly fighting with his only remaining comrade, Dagger, for the alpha male position. They continued to overthrow each other every several months and kept doing this across the first season of the show. In several episodes, Alex tried to kill some pups that he thought were Dagger’s. The first attempt resulted in a lot of confusion in the colony, as Alex closed the entrance to the chamber with Lazania’s seven newborns while she was foraging. They nearly starved to death before she managed to localise them and dig a new entrance. In one of first episodes of the second season, Alex discovered a chamber with four brand new Fanny’s cubs fathered by Dagger while she was also absent. He chased off the serving babysitters and started to carry the babies one-by-one into the desert where he trampled them to death. After he killed two pups and was already stepping on a third, a very angry Dagger appeared and beat up Alex severely before evicting him from the colony instantly. Alex returned to his former life as a nomad, and wasn’t seen in the programme since.

##### Dagger

**Dagger** was one of the eight nomadic haskee males who struck the Masekalian burrow in 22002. He was characterised by a thin and sharp-looking tail, hence his name. He was roughly two years old in 22002 and engaged in the domestic war in the colony. He and Alex were the only two males which Quartzite elected to keep by his side after he took the top rank. While Alex overthrew Quartzite soon after, Dagger wasn’t showing any interest in politics until July 22005 when he started to compete with Alex for both the rank and the access to dominant female Fanny. He and Alex continued to combat each other for nearly three years, regularly supplanting each other for the desired position only to give it up to their rival several months later. In early 22008, Dagger encountered Alex killing a litter of his (Dagger’s) and Fanny’s pups, and evicted him from the colony to finally take the alpha status. He remained the male leader of the Masekalian colony as of programme’s cancellation, and was only dethroned in late 22011 after the arrival of four Rocketer males. He died in his burrow in March 22014 of natural causes, and at an estimated age of 14 years was the oldest known haskee in the wild.

##### Norman

**Norman** was born in September 22005 into Fanny’s first litter and was fathered by an unknown nomadic male. While still a juvenile, he fell onto a set of sharp rocks from a tree, breaking three ribs and leaving a deep gash across his thigh. Amazingly, he recovered and returned to normal life. As a young male, one of his duties was to protect the colony in the first line in case of any outside disturbance. In the final episode of season one (filmed in 22007), he was among the haskees present during an assault by the havoc-wreaking rival Platinumi group. He was last seen on-screen going head-to-head with Platinumi’s dominant male Big Jimmy to fend off his mother’s four young pups. He was the only Masekalian who was not seen fleeing from their former mansion once everybody got out. Big Jimmy stepped out of the chamber with a big bleeding bite on his head, which eventually got infected and resulted in his death. Although his body was not found, it seems certain that Norman died in line of duty trying to protect his family from invaders.

##### Madelline

**Madelline** was born in March 22006 into Fanny’s second litter. She was very mellow and subordinate, and was highly trusted by her mother Fanny. In the first aired episode, she rescued her infant brother Kenny after her three teenage siblings bullied and abandoned him. She was the second female impregnated by nomad male Johnson during the course of the series, in August 22007, five months after her older sister Lazania. Fanny discovered Madelline’s pups, but decided not to kill them. However, in a very rare event in haskee societies, Madelline was attacked by her older sister Alberta and evicted by her, while all of her pups were killed. After Fanny reasserted her authority in the family, she found Madelline and accepted her back while Alberta and her littermate Lazania were both evicted by the matriarch. As she didn’t reproduce for quite a long period, perhaps due to pressure from Fanny, Madelline was the babysitter most often of all haskees in the colony and protected the colony during Katumba invasion in season two and Rocketer invasion in season three. In March 22010 (beginning of season four), Madelline gave birth to her second litter of four pups, which were left alone to thrive by both Fanny and later new dominant female Praline.

##### Lara

**Lara** was born in March 22006 into Fanny’s second litter, with her only mentioned littermate in the series being Madelline. She was the fourth and last female impregnated by nomad male Johnson during the course of the series, in August 22007, about two days after Alberta and several more after her littermate Madelline. They both gave birth in September. While Fanny spared Madelline’s offspring, she killed Lara’s pups as soon as she discovered them. Lara disappeared during the following wet season between shootings of the first and second season. She is currently believed to have drowned inside her burrow during a flood.

##### Cookie

**Cookie** was a male born in September 22006 into Fanny’s third litter. In the first episode of the series, he and his two littermates, brother William and sister Praline, kidnapped their newborn brother Kenny and abandoned him in the middle of a heated desert. He was rescued by the four’s older sister, Madelline. Cookie was very fat and the second-biggest haskee in the colony behind Dagger (third-biggest when Alex was still there). He was also very lazy and laid-back and encouraged others to do the things he should normally do himself. He was also known as the haskee with the biggest appetite. During the famine which occurred during season two, he tried to steal lush grass from his mother Fanny. This made her so angry that she flung herself into him and scratched off his left eye. When she died in season four, Cookie couldn’t find his place in the colony and became a nomad in the penultimate episode of the programme.

##### Praline

**Praline** was one of Fanny’s multiple daughters, coming to the world in the female’s third litter in September 22006. During the food shortage in September 22008 (filmed as part of season two), she led away a breakaway unit from the core territory of Masekalians. At the same time, she gave birth to her maiden litter of four pups, but they all died as a result of her milk not being enforcing enough. When the two units re-integrated, Praline remained subordinate to Fanny. In early part of season four, Jason, a nomad male originally from Rocketers, entered her burrow and tried to solicit copulation. However, he was cut off and severely injured by Dagger before being finally released. When Fanny died later in season four, Praline emerged as the new dominant female and took care of her orphaned siblings. In the final episode ever aired, she barely escaped from a falcon’s talons with a big deep wound on her thigh, developing a limp and losing her pregnancy. Her younger sister Propulsion sensed an opportunity to dethrone her. However, eventually Propulsion couldn’t overcome the unlimited support of Praline from other family members, and was evicted by remaining females. It was since reported that Praline was run over by a motorboat and died crossing a road on October 12, 22011, thirteen months after the filming of season four concluded. She was succeeded as matriarch by one of her countless sisters, Michaela.

##### Kenny

**Kenny** was born in March 22007 into Fanny’s fourth litter and was heavily featured in the first ever episode, where he was kidnapped by his three teenage siblings from his burrow at three weeks old, bullied, and eventually abandoned in the middle of a heated desert. He was discovered by his older sister Madelline and returned to the burrow. As an adolescent in season two, he narrowly survived a bite from a venomous snake. Somehow fittingly, when he grew up he was very caring and nice for his younger siblings himself. In season three finale, he tried to protect Fanny’s newest litter (Reno, Blazer, Felix and Sue) from invading Rocketers. Eventually, he was forced to seal them (and himself) in their burrow to avoid detection once all other members of the family fled in terror and forgot to come to his aid. He tried to keep them alive by catching several earthworms. Eventually Reno and Sue died, but Kenny provided Blazer and Felix with food and warmth long enough for the three of them to survive until the Masekalian counterstrike. In the penultimate episode of season four, in a move initiated by his older brother Cookie, Kenny left the family to become a nomad along with several other males.

##### Tramp

**Tramp** was born in March 22008 into Fanny’s all-male sixth litter and was fathered by Dagger. He found himself in direct danger of losing his life very early as Alex, who was fighting Dagger for top male rank, dragged Tramp and his three brothers outside the burrows before he started squashing them. He fatally trampled on two of them and then started to step on Tramp, when luckily Dagger appeared and evicted Alex. As a result of being partially stepped on by extremely heavy Alex, Tramp’s right-front paw became impaired for the rest of his life, causing him to slightly limp most of the time. However, he was developing quicker than his uninjured littermate Pierre, and soon became the only survivor from the litter when Pierre succumbed to food shortage. When in the penultimate episode of season four several of his older brothers left the colony to become nomads, Tramp became the oldest male remaining in the family, except for the ever-dominant Dagger.

##### Michaela

**Michaela** was born in March 22009 into Fanny’s eighth litter and had five known littermates. When she was only a few days old, Fanny initiated a rebuild of the Masekalian mansion and started carrying the pups one-by-one into a new burrow. She left Michaela’s weakest sister behind in the old burrow, either deliberately or accidentally, and she died the same night. As the remaining pups had their first travel outside the burrows, Michaela’s second sister was claimed by a falcon. Michaela’s three surviving littermates were all males (Sparky, Sparkle and Timber) and she increasingly grew dominant over them. She was distinguished by particularly long and sharp claws, and often scratched her brothers deep as her dominance marks. After they grew up, she was barely seen later in the third season, but was one of the most pivotal individuals in the fourth season. She was an adept babysitter and was learning this „profession” from older sister Madelline. She was also successfully mounted by Rocketer nomad male Jason, but was still too young to produce offspring. However, Jason returned to her during the fall breeding season and this time she actually went pregnant. Sometime earlier, Fanny died from a fox bite wound. She orphaned her newest litter of four (Craig, Beaker, Ella and Ariel) and Michaela took care of them along with her littermate Timber and Fanny’s another daughter Praline. In the final episode of the programme, she was put in a near-death situation as she, Timber and the pups were left alone to face a deadly venomous snake because other individuals were too occupied by handling the duel for domination between Propulsion and wounded Praline. In a heroic action, she rescued all four of her siblings, while Timber died in a fight with the snake. Several days later, Michaela delivered her pups. When Praline died in October 22011, she became the leader of Masekalians.

#### Platinumi members

Their name is derived from the fact that they live near a small river called Platinum Stream. They are one of the most successful colonies of haskees to inhabit the zone where Ambi Desert Haskee Project is conducted and currently the oldest group known to function in original shape. It formed a year after research was launched, in 21994. The group was set up by nomad male Bucco and two females originating from the Cameron group, Magda and Mahle. Platinumi grew very large over the passing years and many of its members are well-known and habituated to the researchers’ presence. Mahle was the first dominant female and Magda was the second dominant female from overhauling Mahle until her own death. Afterwards, her daughter Martina became the long-term dominant female, followed by her own daughter Alessandra and then by Alessandra’s daughter (and Magda’s great-granddaughter) Natasha. Another nomad male, Big Jimmy from the Proton group, was the alpha male for record-setting six years after evicting reigning alpha KP in 22001. Masekalian evictee Quartzite was dominant after Big Jimmy’s death, and the last dominant Platinumian male within the filming of the programme was Finn. Platinumi colony is the source of multitude of other groups which were formed by numerous evictees.

##### Martina

At the time the Platinumi group first appeared on the show, **Martina** was the dominant female of the group. After the death of her partner Big Jimmy shortly after the filming of season one finale, former Masekalian evictee Quartzite became the new dominant male of the group and sought access to Martina. However, she rejected him repeatedly for unknown reasons and scratched him across his face when he became too malicious. She died off-screen during the filming of season two of heat stress after an unusually warm dry season came and she was too fat to handle the high temperature inside the burrows. She was succeeded as dominant female by her daughter Alessandra.

##### Big Jimmy

First introduced as the „biggest, nastiest and most indifferent haskee in the area”, **Big Jimmy** was the dominant male of the Platinumi colony and often the direct leader of their assaults on the Masekalian home area. He is considered the main antagonist of season one. He was the alpha male of Platinumi for a record-setting six years, beginning his role in 22001, when he evicted the serving alpha male KP. In the season one finale, he once again led the assault on Masekalians and dug into the kindergarten chambers, encountering matriarch Fanny’s four young pups. Young Masekalian male Norman dared to fight one-on-one against Big Jimmy for long enough for his mother to come back and drag his siblings. Big Jimmy walked out with marks of massive bites to his head, while Norman never emerged, leading producers and researchers to believe Big Jimmy killed him. However, Big Jimmy’s head bite got infected and he too, died, about five days after the filming of the episode.

##### **Quartzite**

**Quartzite** was one of the eight nomadic haskee males who struck the Masekalian burrow in 22002. Then a gigantic domestic war for the male leadership in the group erupted between the nomads themselves as well as the then alpha male, Herr Hoffman. Eventually, **Quartzite** won the contest and all other males were either evicted or killed, save for two. However, Quartzite’s reign didn’t last very long, since either yet in the same year or at the beginning of 22003 he was displaced by one of the two remaining males, Alex, and evicted. He wandered around as a nomad for a year before joining Platinumians in January 22004. He was often a target of assaults by the residents since they were not fully trusting him. Since Big Jimmy died in September 22007, Quartzite became the group’s dominant male and was able to mate with most of the accessible females, except for the matriarch, Martina, who constantly rejected him. Off-screen in August 22009, Quartzite probably succumbed to an aging-related disease.

**Alessandra**

**Alessandra** was born into the Platinumi Mob on April 9, 22004 as a part of her mother Martina’s fifth litter. She bloomed and became the matriarch of the mob after Martina’s unfortunate death in 22008. Alessandra was found dead just outside her mansion in August 22012, having died either from a disease or due to eating a bait. She was succeeded as the group’s matriarch by her daughter Natasha.

##### Finn

**Finn** was born into the Platinumian Mob on February 26, 22007 in an extremely large litter of nine pups. His littermates were six males (Machu Pichu, Wolf, Agaratu, Shamrock, Chester and Filpalho) and two females (Savanna and Diamond). They were fathered by an unknown nomad male and mothered by one of alpha female Martina’s daughters. Amazingly, all nine pups survived their infancy and lived to adulthood, but then started to disperse. Machu Pichu was initially the most dominant of seven brothers, but he was killed by Wolf. Shamrock, Chester, Agaratu and Filpalho all left the group in early 2009 as a group of nomadic males. This left Finn and Wolf to fight for internal dominance. In December 22009, Finn killed Wolf before becoming the Platinumian alpha male outright after his older male relatives departed in February 22010.

#### Katumba members

The Katumba group formed in 22003 and was named after the original matriarch Katumba before she was replaced in 22006 by her daughter Nebula. Billed as „Uncivilized Neighbors”, Katumba group are the main antagonists of season two, and clash with Masekalians multiple times over the course of the final three seasons. Led by dominant pair Nebula and Harry, Katumbas make a quick invasion on the Masekalian mansion in season two and successfully flee before being cut off by numerically stronger Masekalians. Later, in the season three finale when Masekalians wander without a mansion after getting pushed out of their home range by Rocketers, they invade Katumbas and claim two burrows as their own. In the fight, Katumba leader Nebula gets injured and is displaced and killed by her sister Galaxy. As Galaxy and Harry lead a counterstrike against Masekalians, male called ZipZap suddenly attacks Harry and while successfully taking alpha male status, he disrupts the whole conception of the assault. Several hours later, Masekalians leave the burrows to make their own counterstrike on Rocketers.

##### Nebula

**Nebula**, the dominant female of Katumba from the beginning of season one until the season three finale, was one of the biggest known haskee females in the region. She was very lazy and regularly commandeered food from her subordinates. Once she disappeared from the group two days after getting bitten by a young desert viper. Her littermate Galaxy took advantage of this and made herself the dominant female, but Nebula was able to reassert her dominance upon her return. She was a very fearless individual and the leader of both the invasion on Masekalians and the defence of Katumba burrows. She was wounded in the latter „mission” and crawled into her burrow to heal herself, but her sister Galaxy reached out and mauled her to death before becoming the dominant female.

##### Harry

**Harry** was an elderly male, but a formidable masculine leader of Katumbas who never showed fear. After his former partner Nebula was killed by her sister Galaxy, Galaxy and Harry led the counterstrike to retake two burrows captured by Masakelians. However, he was suddenly attacked by a younger haskee known as ZipZap, and defeated by him to concede the top rank. However, this completely erased all chances they had at mounting a successful attack. Harry was allowed to remain within the colony, but his rights were limited by ZipZap.

##### Galaxy

**Galaxy** was Nebula’s littermate. When Nebula became heavily injured in an engagement with Masekalians, Galaxy came to her burrow and mauled her to death. She then succeeded her as the dominant female and her first „task” was leading the eventually unsuccessful counterstrike against Masekalians. Across the events of season four, she and new alpha male ZipZap commanded several hit-and-flee assaults on Masekalian burrows, but she stopped when she became pregnant later in the season. She gave birth to four pups in the third-to-last episode of the show. However, soon after Katumba burrows were invaded by members of the newly formed Conquistador group. Galaxy only managed to carry away one of her infants, male named Arrow, while the rest were killed by Conquistadors. Galaxy has since died in March 22012 due to an attack by an eagle.

#### Rocketer members

The Rocketer colony formed in 22004, but only appeared in the show since season three (filmed in 22009), when they became Masekalians’ neighbors. They were the main antagonists in both seasons they appeared. This group was what appeared as a result of a meeting between a group of young Pebbles females and several cooperating nomads from the Hobgoblin group. Nathaniel and Cortana established dominance after several disputes. They remained dominant until 22007 when Nathaniel was predated. Then a fight broke out between five males from Nathaniel and Cortana’s first litter to be the alpha male: Aragon, Miles, Jackson, Scorro and Butcher. Aragon temporarily allied himself with Miles in order to defeat and evict Jackson and Butcher. Then, after everything was over, Miles got betrayed and killed by Aragon before the latter led the remaining members to new territory where they became neighbors of the Masekalians. Cortana didn’t procreate with Aragon since he was her son and haskees intentionally avoid inbreeding. However, she mated with Dagger in season four. She grew the nasty part of her personality and evicted eight of ten adult females in the colony, most of them her daughters. During the summer later that season, Aragon inherited his father’s fortune and was predated, roughly at the same time Butcher returned to his family (Jackson went missing when the two were nomads). Butcher accepted his brother Scorro’s position as alpha male. Roughly at the same time when the series finished filming, the group started to disassemble. In late 2011, four males left and took control of Masekalians. In January 2012, Cortana, Scorro and Purley all died from water poisoning. Butcher took over as the alpha, but the group’s four surviving adult females quickly transferred out, and Butcher was only left to control Mazepin, Kung Fu and Pancho. The four males started a nomadic life, but only for them to contract tuberculosis and they were no longer tracked.

##### **Cortana**

The dominant female of the Rocketers, **Cortana** was introduced in season three as „the most indifferent mother in the haskee world”.  Prior to the show’s filming, she was bonded heavily with the predated alpha male Nathaniel, and had a total of six litters with him. Afterwards, when all adult males in the colony were her sons, she was unable to reproduce. She was very brutal and had extremely sharp teeth. During the raid on the Katumba burrows, she single-handedly killed two pups. She was eventually impregnated by the Masekalian alpha male Dagger, accepting him in her mansion out of the desire to naturally reproduce. During the pregnancy, she got very nervous, and evicted eight of ten adult females in the group, most of them her own daughters. She gave birth to her four pups, and they were later named Kung Fu, Panda, Pancho and Julianna (two females and two males).

##### **Aragon**

**Aragon** was the one-eyed male leader of the Rocketers who was commonly feared by every other haskee in the region. He was born in September 22004 into the first litter of Cortana and her deceased mate Nathaniel. He and Rocketers invaded numerous families: Masekalians, Platinumians, Katumbas and Kamirskys. During the 2010 summer (filming of season four), Aragon departed his burrow to go to the group’s watering place, but only his tracking collar was ever seen again. It is commonly believed that he was snatched and killed by a bird of prey, a small canine or a snake.

##### Scorro

**Scorro** was the youngest and weakest member of Cortana and Nathaniel’s original litter born in September 22004. He was the only one among his four littermates to have not been targeted by Aragon for either eviction or killing, as he was simply not enough ambitious and too weak to mount a challenge for top rank. When Aragon was predated during the summer of 22010, Scorro was forced to become the alpha male against his own liking. In a very short time, he became used to the role and looked so formidable in it that his long-lost littermate, Butcher, decided not to challenge him for authority. Scorro was one of three haskees in the family to die from water poisoning in January 22012.

##### Jason

**Jason** was a son of Cortana and Nathaniel from their fourth litter born in March 22006. He frequently traveled away from his family in seasons three and four to mate with females from other families involved in Haskee Mansion. He visited the Katumba burrows and was chased off by Harry before going on to try to solicit copulation with several young Masekalian females. He successfully fathered at least one litter, Masekalian future matriarch Michaela’s first ever pups, which were born in the final aired episode. Earlier, late in season three, he encountered the sole survivor of Kamirskys, Lazania. After a fox attack separated them and Jason had to navigate himself back to Kamirsky burrows, he found Lazania dead from a wildfire. Jason was one of four Rocketer males who left their natal group and took control of Masekalians in late 22011 after all filming had concluded.

#### Kamirsky members

The Kamirsky were a small group that formed towards the end of season one. It was created by evicted Masekalian females Lazania and Alberta and nomad male Johnson, who had fathered the sisters’ previous pups. The group struggled to survive from the start. They were plagued with problems such as small territory with little food, which resulted in low quality of females’ milk and large percentage of deaths. Eventually most of the family members died around the middle of season three after a massive strike by Rocketers. Johnson (who was not present), Lazania and Chantelle were the only survivors, but they died later that year.

##### Johnson

**Johnson** was a recurring male character in the series starting with the second episode. He had a talent to sneak inside colony’s burrows and silently solicit copulation with chosen females before running away without being detected. He mounted at least four different Masekalian females, including Lazania in February, and then Alberta, Madelline and Lara in August. At the end of season one, he put aside his nomadic ways and settled with Lazania and Alberta, two of the females he mated with, as well as a trio of his and Lazania’s offspring. Johnson went to search for watering places when Rocketers attacked Kamirskys in season three, killing everybody except for Lazania and a newer female, Chantelle. As fall neared, a food shortage started and Johnson tried to take his females to more lush vegetation, but Chantelle was always quickly tired because of her spinal injury attained in the invasion. As a result, the group remained in their mansion, and both Chantelle and Johnson wasted away and died from starvation inside their burrows.

##### Lazania

**Lazania** was born in September 22005 as a Masekalian and was a littermate to Norman and Alberta. She was described as „rebellious” when all key haskees were being introduced in the very first episodes.  She was impregnated by bypassing nomad male Johnson and gave birth to her litter just before the series began filming, in March 22007. During the course of season one, Lazania’s seven pups nearly died when jealous Alex sealed them inside their burrow. Lazania eventually heard their calls and dug a new entrance to get to them before they died of starvation. Eventually four of them survived, and were accepted to the family by Fanny who elected not to kill them. However, Fanny later evicted Lazania alongside her sister Alberta. Three of her offspring followed her: Mozart, Chestnut and Cape. Alberta was pregnant at the time by Johnson as well, and the two sisters were forced to dig burrows for Alberta to safely give birth. However, the pups were detected and killed by Platinumians. Eventually, Johnson found the two females and formed a small family with them, siring next litters of pups. However, Lazania killed Alberta’s pups to assert herself as the only female with access to Johnson. A small family developed, but in season three Rocketers stormed the mansion when Johnson was absent. They killed most of the Kamirskys, only leaving Lazania and her more recent sister, Chantelle. During the fall, Johnson and Chantelle both died of starvation, with Lazania herself very thin. She discovered a nomadic Rocketer male, Jason, who looked to make a family with her, but she died the next day from a wildfire.

##### Alberta

**Alberta** was born in September 22005 into Fanny's first litter, alongside Norman and Lazania. She was described as „sensitive” during the haskee introductions. She became the third Masekalian female to be impregnated by nomad male Johnson, in August 22007. When in the final stages of her pregnancy, she became very nervous and let her younger sister Madelline feel her frustration, killing her pups (also sired by Johnson) and evicting her. Fanny later found Madelline and accepted her back to the family while evicting Lazania and Alberta. Alberta was already very heavily pregnant and could barely travel, so she, Lazania and Lazania’s three trailing kids built a shallow burrow to allow Alberta to deliver offspring normally. However, the pups were detected and killed by Platinumian patrol when the females were away in search of food. Eventually, Johnson found the two lone females and formed a small family with them, siring next litters of pups. However, Lazania killed Alberta’s pups to assert herself as the only female with access to Johnson. Alberta understood it pretty well, and never gave birth to another litter. She was present in the mansion (as were all Kamirskys bar Johnson) when Rocketers’ invasion occured. She took four deep bite wounds from Rocketer alpha male Aragon, and crawled into her burrow in pain before dying from blood loss.

##### Chantelle

**Chantelle** was born in March 22007 into Fanny’s fourth litter, with her most famous littermate being the kidnapped Kenny. She left on her own or was evicted from Masekalians off-screen at some point, though the reasons for this are unknown. The most logical date seems to be late 22008, when she theoretically would have started to menstruate and Fanny would have had an excuse to drive her away to prevent her from reproducing inside her natal group. She joined Kamirskys in early 22009 (before the filming of season three began) and never got into spats with her older sisters Lazania and Alberta, and what goes with it also never gave birth to any pups. She was present in the mansion (as were all Kamirskys bar Johnson) when Rocketers’ invasion occured. She took a massive bite near her spine from one of the group's males, but otherwise managed to survive, and was the only haskee besides Lazania to have done so. As fall neared, a food shortage started and Johnson tried to take his females to more lush vegetation, but Chantelle was always quickly tired because of her spinal injury. As a result, the group remained in their mansion, and both Chantelle and Johnson wasted away and died from starvation inside their burrows.

#### Conquistador members

The Conquistadors were a small group that was formed by Saldana in the penultimate episode of season three when she broke away from Masekalians together with her older brother William, littermate Sierra and her and Sierra’s offspring. They were initially a satellite group of Masekalians as they shared the same territory. At the beginning of season four, they were shown to have already been a fully independent colony with the territory lying some distance away from Masekalians. Also before the season started, a pairing of nomad males named Aztec and Janek integrated themselves into the group, providing Saldana and Sierra with some unconnected mates.

##### Saldana

**Saldana** was born in March 22007 into Fanny’s fourth litter. Her featured littermates include Kenny, Chantelle and Sierra. Sierra and Saldana were two of three Masekalian females impregnated by nomadic Platinumians, the other being Fanny’s older daughter Praline. All three gave birth to their pups during the food shortage in September 22008 (filmed as part of season two), when the unit they were in, led by Praline, was far away from central Masekalian territory. Saldana kept two of her pups alive to the moment where the units re-integrated, unlike the other two females, but this didn’t matter because they were killed by Fanny. In February 22009, Saldana travelled far away from Masekalians to go into pregnancy with a nomad male again, but was found and dragged back by Fanny before she sealed her in a burrow. In August, she and Sierra again escaped from their family mansion and solicited copulation with some unknown males. They gave birth to new litters in September, and Fanny reluctantly spared them after seeing that mothers were braced for fierce defence. However, she abandoned the mansion and took the rest of the mob with her. The two females were eventually joined by their brother William enabling them to survive. After the group was joined by two nomads named Aztec and Janek, Saldana mothered multiple litters with them after the show concluded filming.