Zaphod, named after Zaphod Beeblebrox from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", was Flower's devoted partner and the dominant male of the Whiskers. As Zaphod assumed both roles by usurping, he tended to be edgy if Yossarian got too close to Flower. According to the "Meerkat Manor: The Series Begins" film, Zaphod was a roving Lazuli male before he joined the Whiskers. He was really born in the Vivian, not the Lazuil. He and his younger brother, Yossarian, visited the Whiskers at the same time in search of females. Flower's sister Viale, then the dominant female, chose Yossarian as her mate and he became the group's dominant male. Zaphod and Flower also mated, but Viale killed the resulting pups. After Viale's death, Flower assumed the role of dominant female and showed preference to Zaphod for her mate. Yossarian then left the group for an unknown length of time. Being one of the largest meerkats in the group earned him the description of a "bruiser", ready and willing to lead the charge against any Whiskers rivals, or rival males trying to get too close to any of the Whiskers females. After Flower's death in the third series, Zaphod continued to perform the duties as the group's dominant male and would chase off any roving males trying to reach new dominant female Rocket Dog. As meerkats will not mate with first generation relatives, he eventually left the group and became a roving male. He returned after two episodes and still acted as the group's dominant male as of the end of series three. At the start of the fourth series, Zaphod was shown with his own radio collar. He left the Whiskers again to become a rover, then took over as dominant male of the Aztecs in the second episode of the series. As Maybelline was also one of his daughters, Zaphod was still without a mate. On 4 March 2011, Zaphod died of old age. He was 12 years old. The Gattaca, named after the 1997 science fiction movie, was a minor group of approximately ten members that appeared briefly in the first series. The small group first appeared in episode seven when the Whiskers accidentally crossed over into their territory. The meeting ended without incident as the Whiskers willingly returned to their own land.