Zimbabwe Seven

Dear Readers

All of us at the Tikki Hywood Trust wish to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy 2010.  In the year of 2009 Zimbabwe has been at the forefront of many a negative or tragic article, and so it is our hope that this will change in 2010.  Having said that, our farm invasions have not ceased which obviously does not spell good news for both humanity and wildlife alike here in Zimbabwe.  On Christmas day over 10 farmers were ordered off their land and had only but a few hours to remove their life long possessions.  Even after 10 years of this madness, here in Zimbabwe it still seems totally surreal when we hear of these farmers being moved off their land.  The significance of these invasions, indicates huge issues for the wildlife that clings to a bare existence outside of the conservancies and or the National Parks.  With each farmer being moved off the land, the small nucleus of wildlife, which has found sanctuary there, are no longer safe from the ever increasing poaching.

This year will see the Tikki Hywood Trust becoming actively involved once again with trying to establish safe areas where wildlife can once again roam freely.  We will be working with our Department of National Parks and Wildlife Authorities in trying to establish new legislation, where our fines and penalties for poaching are realistic and act as a strong aversion to would-be lawbreakers.  Again with the Department we hope to establish new guidelines for all wildlife which is held in captivity here in Zimbabwe.  These guidelines will then be able to offer protection to the innocent animals, which do not get a say in how they are meant to live behind bars.  With the current economic situation in an ever-spiralling downward trend and unemployment nearly at 90%, the poaching will not subside.  I wish I could pretend that this year is going to be full of hope and light, but the sad reality is that we will have to adjust to the ever changing times and challenges which will be thrown at us this 2010.

What I can tell you is that the Tikki Hywood Trust will be here ever ready to face those changes and walk that path no matter how hard it is to conserve our wildlife, our heritage.  We would also like to thank you the readers who have become our supporters. You are the people who encourage us to strive further and give us the strength to face our challenges.  Happy 2010!

Below is the Tikki Hywood Trust version of Bambi and Thumper……….. may we present Willow the impala and Nespray the rabbit!

Dear Readers,

It has been one of those nerve-wracking, heart-wrenching times here at the Trust where we have had to put aside our own selfish need to keep our animals safe and sound and in a controlled environment, and give them the greatest gift we can – their freedom. This has by far been one of the most agonising decisions, as we have three serval at the release site, mother and two offspring (who are young adults already)  and have already released the father, Mufasa in the area in February of this year.  If Mufasa’s release was anything to be measured by, one could easily understand our constant battle with the pros and cons of this release. To recap for those readers who do not know the full story:

Mufasa was hand raised by myself (Lisa) and obviously a bond had developed over time, between us.  As a human, I am always surprised at my own selfishness in wanting to keep all the animals I raise – just so that I know they are safe forever, and that I know that every day they have food, warmth and what I think they need.  But do we as humans really know what these wild creatures need?  With each release I am sure a piece of my heart goes with each one of these animals, who have become part of my family.  However, when I finally do have the joy of seeing them, walking freely in what is their new freedom – I realise that there is still, so much that we do not understand and that being wild is a gift beyond measure, which as humans, we can give to our fellow mammals, whom we share this planet with. Releasing is a very emotional step which I continue to struggle with even after doing it for so many years.  Each animal who takes their first steps into the wild, makes my heart stop and my mind full of what can go wrong.  It is so difficult being wild, when you are born into it.  So to be captive born, with all the theoretical warmth and comfort that goes with that, and then enter into this new world, has so much against these captive born animals.  Have we prepared them sufficiently, will they know how to react to all the new dangerous situations that they might find themselves in?  Only time, will tell and we will be the first to report back to you re the adventures in the wild.

And so the gate of the enclosure was opened on the 28^th February 2009 and Mufasa strode purposefully out to claim his wild heritage!

Mufasa was collared, so that we could track his movements and keep a protective eye on him in this new chapter of his life. However – this sense of security was to be short-lived, as he could no longer be detected after the third day of being out!  And this has been the same situation to this current date – Mufasa has still not been detected in any form shape or manner since March 2009.  When looking for a release site, a strict criteria has been developed and on top of the list is HUMAN MANAGEMENT.  Whilst being involved with the releasing of animals we have seen time and time again that the people who are on the ground are at first very excited to get involved with receiving our animals – but perhaps do not quiet understand the level of commitment and dedication that is required in order to return an animal back into the wild.  With Mufasa, there unfortunately was a change over in management and the tracking of him was overlooked for a two week period.  During the first month the animal has to be tracked daily – this was not done and hence Mufasa’s signal was lost!

So now the dilemma – what do we do with the remaining three? Arwen has been wearing a collar in the release boma for the same length of time as Mufasa and the Chishakwe Management have reported mixed strengths of its transmitting capability. Evenstar, the young male would prove to be the best candidate to be collared for release, as he is full size and due to his easy-going nature would possibly be easier to track and he is not intimidated by people in his vicinity, as opposed to his mother Arwen and sister Quickbeam who are both relatively shy cats.

So, a decision was made to only collar Evenstar, to remove Arwen’s old collar and then to release all three at the same time. The exercise began with Evenstar first, to knock him down with an oral sedative and them top him up with an injectable one so that he could be collared, measured and given all the relevant vaccines, and to be honest, give him what could possibly be one last touch.  The only hiccup in this whole procedure is that it was performed under a constant damp drizzle, as the December rains had made an appearance and certainly did not seem to want to let up!  However, releasing of cats is best done when the rains arrive as there will be plenty of prey out there for them.

Next were the two girls, Quickbeam appeared to have more resistance to the oral sedative and so we decided to rather give her the rabies vaccination with a pole syringe rather than have her fully unconscious.

Arwen proved to be the hardest to work with as she is incredibly elusive, so making sure she took the oral sedative fully proved to be a challenge. She too fought the drug and so had to finally be sedated with further drugs via a pole syringe. It was in these moments of dealing with Arwen under sedation that I finally realised that what we were doing for her was the kindest and greatest gift for this animal. Arwen has physically dropped a fair amount of condition in the preceding months, despite being dewormed and her food being increased. On removing the collar we also saw that it had been rubbing on her neck, knotting the fur and must have been uncomfortable to some degree. I felt sick knowing that I had imposed this discomfort on this animal against her will (although she accepted the collar and did not fight it). I also knew at that point that I would never put another collar on her again. Was Arwen trying to tell us that she had quiet simply, lost interest in life and wanted to be free?! To her the safety of the release enclosure was becoming more and more like a prison, and she was losing interest in life rapidly.

After all the procedures were done, it was time to let the cats all recover from the ordeal. We gave them a full day to allow all drugs to work out of their systems and to give them a very good feed! First on the menu…….. fresh guinea fowl!

The following day was the day of the release. Evenstar was to be the first to venture out the gate, having briefly re-acquainted with his mother and sister in the main enclosure. Watching him stride tenaciously through the gate was like watching your child head off to university – only for Even, this is the University of Life! We followed him like anxious parents, a fair enough distance away so as not to intimidate him, but just enough to maintain contact, albeit through the rhythmic beep of his collar. After about an hour it was apparent that he was going to take his time getting to know the immediate vicinity, so it was time to concentrate on the girls.

They however, did not seem as keen as Evenstar to venture out the gate under an audience; in fact they plain refused to go out even with the main gate open at 3 meters wide! So, passive tactics were employed – they were left to settle, for a couple of hours whilst we went back to the drawing board to sort out a camera trap. Coming back in the late afternoon – we set up the trap at the gate, and everyone left the area except me. We decided the fewer observers the more likely the girls would venture out at their own speed so I settled down in an unobtrusive spot to see what the girls would do.

Curiosity certainly overcame Quick as after a fair number of times sweeping past the wide open gate she decided to venture out. Her flicking tail reflected her indecisiveness, but she eventually stepped over the boundary, majestic little princess! Not even ten minutes into her new adventure, Quick had a close encounter of the wild kind – a pair of black-back jackal boys who were obviously regulars in the area. They trotted up to her firmly, ears flat, teeth bare, emitting little growly snarls and backs arched. Their demeanour was not necessarily fully aggressive, but they were indignant about this new arrival on their turf. Quick remained aloof and regal – held her ground and stretched that elegant neck just a little higher and longer than normal so she could look down on them. Her only hint of unease was the swishing of the tail tip. I, the heart in the mouth anxious human, camera tightly gripped in hand, held the moment for as long as I could before the wave of utter horrific imagination of “what could happen” overcame me. The only response I could fully justify (which thankfully was not to run and shout at the jackals like a hysterical human) was to do a poor impression of an impala snort! I am pleased to say that this produced the desired result of the jackals breaking their intense scrutiny of Quick and trotting off. Quick however did shoot me a rather withering look – you know the “I had it under control” type.

After that Quick continued her slow inspection of the “wild” and I was especially excited to note that she was heading in the same direction as her brother, Evenstar. I stayed put, watching for as long as I could in the fading light.

Arwen chose to remain as private as possible, not showing herself near the gate during the time I sat and waited. Again being human, I suppose I sought the self-gratification of seeing her walk free, whilst it was a moment for her to savour and her alone. We did manage to get a hint and a blur of a cat exiting the release boma much later that evening on the camera trap, which to our best presumption, was Arwen finally taking steps towards her independence.

From that day till this current date, there has been no conclusive sign of either Quick or Arwen. Evenstar has been tracked and found to be ranging further and further away, until the point that he has not been detected for over a week, possibly longer by the time our Readers see this report.

From a research point of view, this really has not been an ideal release. When there is no successful post release monitoring, it creates a gap in the information that we are trying to gather. But, perhaps this in itself is the lesson for these particular servals and in this specific situation. When one chooses the best circumstance for the individual animal, it is not always to say that the “science” will necessarily follow. Perhaps however the hardest reality of this whole event is to realise that freedom cannot be compartmentalized, it cannot be tamed with a tracking collar, or modified with behaviour training. When an animal accepts that freedom – it is all-consuming and forever. We as the people, who work with animals and feel it important enough to give them, this gift, must realise that it is the hardest and yet most unselfish thing we can do for them. There is also no guarantee that it will work or that the animal will strive in his or her new found freedom. We can only wait, watch and hope.

Dear Readers,

The prodigal Serval has become the wondering Serval! Rafiki is on the move again, this time hopefully to settle for the final time at Bushman Rock Estates where he will have the other serval company that he is so desperately seeking.

 After much deliberation we have come to a hard and fast conclusion: the Trust headquarters, although a veritable paradise in its own right, is simply not good enough for one lonely serval. Rafiki is a quiet cat by nature but is not entirely as solitary as the guide books would have us believe. He has always been around other serval, from being constantly with his mother, Muffet, to now not having anyone around, seems to have affected him deeply. Even when Muffet was released and Rafiki remained in the release boma, she would come and check on her son, so he had the comfort of always knowing that Mum was near. So Rafiki has gone to join the Bushman Rock Estates serval clan, who include Bilbo, Gandalf and Shenzi. Rafiki and Shenzi are in fact distantly related, so hopefully he will recognise this kinship and it will make him a little more secure.

As normal, in order to move Rafiki (as he is not totally hand tame – he was raised by his mother) we had to give him a light cocktail in a chicken head to make him sleepy. Our drug of choice is Dormicum ® (Midazolam for those who know the chemical terminology). At the Tikki Hywood Trust we have done extensive work with oral administration of Dormicum ® , as a less invasive method of sedating a captive animal. (as opposed to injecting the sedative). One of the wonderful, though potentially hazardous side effects of dormicum, is that the animal loses all fear of humans, and will often walk right up to you and allow you to touch them.

There is nothing that can fully describe the feeling of stroking a magnificent half king serval from the top of his broad head to the tip of his short, silky  tail, and him returning your gaze and responding with a companionable lick of his sand paper tongue!  This from a cat, who would normally crouch defensively, and hiss loudly with saliva flowing in warning!  In these magical moments one tends to forget all the problems, troubles and strife and remember why it is that we do what do for wildlife!

Dear Readers,

Spring is the universal herald of new life, no matter what hemisphere you are in and there is certainly no change in that formula here at the Tikki Hywood Trust. A mere two days later to the date of last year’s spring arrivals, our next generation of hedgehogs have arrived like clockwork! Our first litter of 3 arrived in the afternoon of Friday 18^th September 2009 and two days later another three litters, 8, 3 and 2 to three mothers respectively.  This is the 2^nd generation of captive bred hedgehogs born at the Trust and it certainly seems that we have cracked the formula. However, we still are a little shell-shocked at how prolifically our hedgehogs seem to pop them out!

Our last blog was rather sad to say the least what with having to implant all the animals (except the hedgehogs), to prevent them from breeding.  It has to be said we did not quite expect the amazing explosion of hoglets that we were to receive!!!  The first seventy-two hours is always a nerve-wracking experience with new hoglets, and in this case what made it even more complicated was that the first birth occurred in a communal enclosure with eight female hedgehogs and it was not immediately apparent who the mother was! There in a nest of hay lay three very ugly (yes, hoglets when they are first born are incredible ugly), hoglets. Eventually we were able to determine the birth mother, and we were impressed to note that it was Beatrix. She had three litters last year, so not only has she proved to be very fertile but she also has raised her young well.  We removed Beatrix & babies straight away from the main enclosure that had seven other lady hogs.  We put her in a smaller enclosure, so that she did not feel pressured by the other hedgehogs and could focus on raising her young. 

However, the following day turned out to be even more surprising to find that at approximately the same time as the previous day another three mothers gave birth – all in the same place! It was not an easy task sorting these three litters from each other but we managed to do so, and each mother was placed in an isolated and secluded place in which to raise the young. The mothers were then closely monitored over the next 48 hours.  The first day went well and Beatrix and the other females proved to be diligent mums.  On the third day things start to go a little wrong.  When inspecting the first litter of hoglets in the morning, we noticed that two of them had been badly bitten and were not lying close to Beatrix.  This could have be as a result of two things; one, the babies could have had a congenital and or hereditary defect which is why Beatrix was trying to kill them, or with the stress of being moved she was now uncertain of her new environment. The first result was the one we feared the most, and so we removed the two babies and decided to attempt hand raising. We removed the smallest, weighing 10g and the one that seemed to be the most bitten, which weighed 16g.  We also decided to try a new milk formula called ESBILAC©, which had proved highly successful for the bat-eared foxes and is a completely balanced and vitamin enhanced formula. Getting the hoglets started on this milk was not a difficult task, they readily took to it and after about the fourth feed came to associate the curved syringe with food.

However, after a few days we noticed that although their spines were growing, their bodies were not developing and in fact their weight had dropped. 

The babies were removed on 21^st September 2009. The smallest one appeared under developed at birth and so prognosis was not good to start off with. We unfortunately lost this little on the following Saturday, 26^th. He had dropped 2g in weight from 10g to 8g at the time of death. The larger one of the two survived until 1^st October 2009 and during that time the weight fluctuated 2g either side of the initial weight. Her final weight at the point of death was 2g heavier, but in comparison to the other hoglets the same age that were suckling naturally, she was a third of the size. We are happy to report that the remaining hoglets with their mothers are exceptionally happy and healthy.

Beatrix has successfully raised her one remaining hoglet who we have nick named Sharpei as with all that extra milk from mum, has become a huge Rolly Polly and looks just like one of those Sharpei dogs!

The female who gave birth to 8 is Miss Tiggy, who also bred successfully last season having had two litters. However it is very difficult for the mother to cope with so many babies seeing as she only has six mammaries and eight mouths to feed. Unfortunately two of the babies did not survive, and this goes to show how nature has a way of balancing out at times. One of our main concerns with large litters is a condition in the mother called “milk fever”.    

Milk fever, or post-parturient hypocalcemia, is a disease, which is characterized by reduced blood calcium levels. It is most common in the first few days of lactation, when demand for calcium for milk production exceeds the body’s ability to mobilize calcium reserves.

“Fever” is a misnomer, as body temperature during the disease is usually below normal. Low blood calcium levels interfere with muscle function throughout the body, causing general weakness, loss of appetite, and eventually heart failure.

To prevent milk fever we automatically administer an injection of Calcitad, which is made up of Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphorus. This boosts the mother’s available calcium, prevents and treats milk fever and avoids the potential of taking the babies away.

One of the younger females, who was also a first time mother, developed milk fever on the fifth day after giving birth (although she only had two hoglets and lost both at 3 days old). She was very wobbly and lethargic, so she got a shot of Calcitad and we placed her in an outside enclosure where she was surrounded by the other female hedgehogs. In my experience with working with wildlife, once an animal gives up the desire to live there is very little you can do to reverse that decision for them.  But, by placing them with other animals of their own kind you hope to stimulate that survivor instinct!  It worked, and she is now doing well and has fully recovered from her ordeal of pregnancy, giving birth as well as getting milk fever.  Such a lot for a small mammal to contend with!! 

So to date we have an addition of nine healthy hoglets with three respective mums.  They all have remained with their mothers and are doing well.  We will wean them once they are on solids, at approximately 6 weeks and then, habituate them to outside enclosures in preparation for release in Esigodini, an area in the south of the country where we are developing a hedgehog release site. 

Stay tuned for more prickly updates as they happen!

Dear Readers,

It is that time of the year again when send out newsletters – so here it is:

This newsletter has been very difficult for me to compile due to the very sad loses of both Muffet and Asia. Both of these cats have been in my life since their birth and had become very important figures, on this journey of mine. Each loss stabs me in the heart and leaves a scar, which I fear that even time does not take away. When we take these individual lives and decide to return them to the wild – you can never be totally certain that you are making the right decision. Muffet arrived in a Bata shoe box, eyes closed and full of nonsense. Each day that passed I could see her in the wild, being as free as any wild animal can be in Zimbabwe under this current environment. But for her life to be taken by a nonsensical, white woman – there can be no excuse!

Asia, I helped her into this world. When she arrived, her mother Hooch did not want anything to do with her. As she came out of the womb, I was there to break her amniotic sac and introduce her into this world. From day one, Asia touched my heart. She was an old and wise soul, coming into my life to help me with the hardships which would come my way and most certainly give me the extra bit of strength to continue. If I felt I could no longer deal with the ever changing environment, all I had to do was go and be with Asia. She would talk and smooch and love me, unconditionally and completely. There is a huge hole in my life with out her.

Who said working with animals would be easy? Perhaps the hardest part of this path is to say goodbye to those creatures who enter our world and then have to leave before us. Each passing is a lesson in itself and one which at times I wish I did not have to learn. With a lot of the animals we work with, only through death are we able to learn more about how better to keep them alive! Ironic isn’t it? The experiences which we have gained through working with these wild animals must be collected and correlated and made available to all parties who are either interested or work with similar animals.

Aardwolf
There comes a time in every mammal’s life when they start to show signs of becoming very old. Hasha has reached that point in her life. Due to her age, (we know she is around 16 years old) she is spending a lot of her time just eating and sleeping, which for an elderly creature is normal. She has the run of the whole property but chooses to remain in her safe territory. Now being winter, the ambient temperature drops in the early mornings and evenings so Hasha is given a warmed bean bag. When animals become old, they do seem to have a little more trouble regulating their temperature, so we try and help them by supporting them with a heated alternative. Hasha has become very protective of her bean bags and unless she can see a warmed bean bag on its way to her, she will growl at you when you try and remove the old one. Hasha is now being fed twice a day, with her normal diet in the evenings and then in the morning a bowl of pronutro, mixed with yoghurt and warmed milk. Due to the levels of interaction which Hasha still has with us, we are of the opinion that so long as she has quality of life and is in good condition, then she is still meant to remain, as a very important part of our family. As she has become older we have managed to tame her more and more. We are now able to brush and stroke her, which are all good forms of interaction we believe.

African Wild Cat
Asia, my precious girl. Born, one late afternoon, on the 9 December 2003, Asia was in a rush to get into this world. Arriving at least 10 minutes after her sister India, this tiny baby was a mass of wet mucus and after gently opening the embryonic sac; Asia was all eyes and tail. Hooch was not even remotely interested in her, and even after trying to get Asia to suckle from Hooch, by placing her onto Hooch’s stomach – I realised that this was not to be. Asia was cold and wet and the only place for her was in my bra close to my heart which is where she will always remain. Asia was a model cat, hardly ever getting even the slightest ailment or causing any trouble. That is not to say she did not have a mind of her own and could be incredibly vocal when she was not getting her own way. Asia was not very engaging when it came to other people, she tolerated people but there was and will always be a very special bond between Asia and I. When Asia gave birth on 27TH Aug 2006, she decided to make it very much a family affair. The evening before the kittens arrived, she was at the gate making very interesting noises and when I walked away those noises seemed to increase. I decided that perhaps Asia wanted to come into the house and be with me! I took her to my room where she promptly made herself at home by lying down on the bed and taking over. That night Asia and I shared my bed, (thankfully it is a double) as small Wild Cats named Asia seemed to take up rather a lot of space. Early hours of the morning, Asia started purring and dribbling, which I took as the beginning of contractions as there was a lot of blinking and ears going flat against her head. Before I knew it there was pushing and low growling coming from Asia. Feeling totally helpless all I could do was offer words of encouragement and wait. There was a moment of panic, when I could see the first kittens head but Asia did not seem to be able to push hard enough to get the rest of the body out! Nature is an amazing thing and before long (seemed an eternity) the first kitten was born. We waited another half and hour and then the contractions started once again, and Asia had to push! Number two arrived. Asia was licking them and encouraging them to stay close to her. During this whole experience, I was privileged enough to be allowed to watch and remain close to Asia. After nearly an hour, Asia started, for the third time to pushing and growl. Number three arrived. Minsk, Beluka and Mandalay, two males and a female. Wow I was busting with pride. Asia was extremely pleased and just lay on the bed with the three kittens drinking quietly from her.

For the next ten days Asia remained, in my bedroom, in fact I moved out after she attacked me once whilst I was asleep! So I moved into the lounge whilst she continued to bond with her kittens. When I felt that there was no danger of her eating or being stressed about being moved I moved her and the kittens to our nursery room which has been adapted for wild orphans and babies.

Tragedy struck our lives on 13th June 2009. During the afternoon feeding run, Ellen discovered Asia lying in an odd position near a lower fence in the enclosure. On closer inspection, the horrifying, chilling realisation – Asia was dead. With no immediate signs of the cause of death, we came to an educated presumption that she had a stroke. This is consistent with the following: a month earlier she had developed pneumonia suddenly. We brought her into the house and treated immediately with antibiotics, keeping her indoors for 5 days. Within 12 hours of the first antibiotic injection there was a remarkable improvement. By the following weekend Asia was back to her normal self and ready to go back to Siam, seemingly in good form. Just over a month later we found her dead in the enclosure with no visible cause of death (e.g. poison, snake bite etc). We have subsequently found in some research that sometimes after a severe chest infection, the patient may potentially suffer a stroke later on as the heart muscle is compromised. The facts do not help when it comes to trying to accepting her loss. We straight away removed Siam from the enclosure where Asia had died. He was very vocal and seemed obviously stressed, so we put him next to the other two girls, India and Burma. Siam, definitely does not enjoy being on his own so over the following few days we started, slowly introducing the three cats. What could have been a lot of fighting, scratching and biting – in fact could not have been calmer. The three cats sniffed one another and then just walked on past, seemingly more interested in the different sights and sounds of the enclosure than each other. I suppose as humans we sometimes take for granted that these animals are well acquainted, if only through a diamond mesh fence.

Burma, who was destined for release this year, has been implanted! What a little ‘pork chop’ – as with the implant she has put on weight (increased appetite) and we are therefore trying to exercise her more. As we have had to revise our release policy, we are‘re-taming’ her (as she was the first to lead walk!) which has been a wonderful experience. At first she was just totally appalled at the thought of having a human touch her; however she has started to come around and now thinks that it actually could be rather enjoyable. Her tail goes straight up in the air and presents a rather rounded derriere due to weight gain from the implant. (Most women who have endured some forms of contraception will concur!!) Due to her new status as a single, implanted female, we thought she might enjoy some other male company without risk of kittens, so we introduced her and Minsk. This was a very safe option, as neither are capable of breeding at this stage (Minsk has been sterilized) and to our surprise he was rather violent! So that lasted all of about 5 minutes with Burma getting some exercise whilst scrambling up a tree away from a fired-up Minsk.

Hooch has been given the title of “chief rat catcher” – due to a successful kill in the civet pen. Unfortunately in the winter season, the rodents are on the hunt for food and have found a never-ending source of delectable fruit and meat with Badger the civet and have thus taken up residence in his enclosure. We have tried all manner of humane traps, which the rats have proved to smart for – so now we have had to get tough, hence sending in General Hooch.

Civet
These animals continue to amaze me. You can never fully predict the nature of a civet, whether they are in a good mood or going to attack! Francis even though she has greatly improved on her mental front – however when food is involved she has given both Ellen and I a run for our money, growling, barking and chasing us in full attack mode!!! If nothing else it most certainly gets your adrenalin pumping.

The time has arrived and we are starting to introduce Francis to Assisi. Now the Francis has been implanted, it is safe for the two of them to be together. During the month of June Francis has been a lot calmer. In the morning she has been eager to jump into her house with very little persuasion. This has been a huge improvement for her, and hopefully the next step being introduced to Assisi, will be the last of the pacing.

Badger has some new lodgers in his enclosure – having discovered the five star treatment of excellent food delivered to the door, warm accommodation and 24 hour security protection in the form of a grumpy civet, a rabble of rats (using the correct English collective noun) have taken up residence in casa de Civet. It has brought many laughs and excitement to all at the Trust. Recently though we decided that for a little bit of African wild cat enrichment, we would put Assisi into another enclosure and introduce Hooch! Well, she thought she had arrived at Disney World! Instinct hit and Hooch attacked! One strike, one squeak and one dead rat! With tail like a bottle brush and eyes wide open Hooch ran back to her enclosure with the rat in her mouth and great glee in her stride! We are delighted to report that the rat family are in the process of finding new accommodation, with less feline species as neighbours.

Genet
CK has graduated to the outside enclosure. Having spent 3 ½ months with Ellen in her house, and taming down very nicely but also putting on a fair bit of weight, we decided that she needed her own kind of company and the stimulation of the outside world. So the first step was to take Coco and Dior out of their enclosure and let CK explore it. After a couple of days in the adjacent enclosure to Munch kin, we then allowed the two to have contact. Munchkin was amazing and very gentle with out showing any aggression. CK was delighted to be out and about and must have shed at least 10% of her body weight with all the exploring! As soon as we were happy that Munchkin and CK were going to become good companions, we returned Coco and Dior back outside into their original enclosure. Coco & Dior are also showing interest in the new addition to the genet family (having gotten acquainted with her scent during their “holiday” in the cottage) although with Coco is seems to be more of a sibling aggression.

On that note, we must mention some of our observations with the use of implants in genet. After Coco’s very bad reaction to the implant we are very concerned with implanting Munchkin, as she is our main breeder. Should there be a problem with the relationship between Munchkin and CK we will try an implant in CK, however we will avoid that at all costs. I fear that there has not been enough research done with the smaller carnivores and therefore the implants can put them at risk.

Rags, of course remains’ the ever gentle, meek and mild dominant male. Without anyone threatening his position, he spends a lot of his time just observing! He did however have a bit of an adverse experience when a swarm of bees took up residence to his bougainvillea hollow. We had to resort to smoking the bees out to convince them that this was not an acceptable idea! He is none the worse for wear after the smokey experience and thankfully the bees have remained away.

Hedgehogs
This has been our first winter with having our babies in the mobile enclosures and completely outside without any form of artificial heating. They are doing so well! Apart from three of the older hedgehogs having contacted a little bit of ring worm all is well with the hedgehogs. The main breeders, have remained in their in door enclosure, with the artificial heating. I believe that due to the increased temperature, the adults have been able to physically cope with the winter. This is the first winter we have not had to deal with pneumonia’s, snuffles and other winter orientated illness. What a relief, a sick hedgehog is not the world’s easiest animals to treat and return to good health.

Serval
The prodigal serval returns in the form of Rafiki. After many concerns of, are we doing the right thing with Rafiki, by bring him back to the Trust and a life in captivity? We are very happy that this has been our choice. Since he has returned, we have seen that his back seems to have been damaged. There is a lump about 2 inches from the base of his tail and his back legs seem to be fairly weak when he moves. Perhaps when Rafiki was out in the wild he was beaten or attacked by humans. This does make sense of the terrible fear that he continues to have at being released. Rafiki has adapted to captive life incredibly well, a lot better than I had anticipated. He is feeding from our hands already and takes great interest if we are doing anything in his enclosure. He also takes great comfort with the knowledge, that there are other animals around him. He spends a lot of his time lying up close to the African Wild Cat enclosures and watching what they are doing. Even when gardening in the enclosure, Rafiki will take great interest in the procedure and try and get involved. With time we hope that we will be able to further tame him so that we are able to interact and play with him a lot more. If we try and chase him, that fear returns and he runs away and hides – so there is still a fair amount of work to be done.

Shenzi:
This has been a very hard year for Shenzi. Being a rather particularly sensitive serval without any people skills, it has been hard to get to know her. When she was here with us as a kitten we were able to walk her and interact with her very well. As soon as she became of age, a very different character started to emerge out of her. She wanted her own space and was happiest when left alone. It was for this reason that we decided she would best suit being released. This was not too be, as the current environment is not best suited to any animals being released as far as I am concerned. Before we release a female animal, we also like to know that she can successfully conceive and give birth as well as take care of her kittens.

Shenzi has not as yet past this test. On 2nd June 2009, we were alerted by Bushman Rock that there were kitten sounds coming from Shensi’s enclosure. Ellen and I dropped everything and jumped into the vehicle and headed out to Bushman Rock straight away to assess the situation on the ground. We could see Shenzi with one kitten inside the T-pee. The kitten was calm and quiet which is a sign that it has been fed and is content. Shenzi was at all times very close to the kitten or with the kitten. We were confident that she could manage at this point with taking care of just one kitten. There was one concern which I had and that was the size of the kitten, it was incredible small which could indicate the kitten being premature. By Friday 5th June it was observed that the kitten was dead, but Shenzi was still carrying it around. By the following morning, no carcass could be found. Due to this very sad ordeal that Shenzi has been through we have decided to implant her so that she can remain with the boys in an enlarger enclosure and live a semi-captive life, until such time that Zimbabwe’s wildlife has more protection and stand’s a chance at survival, without man’s intervention.

Bilbo & Gandalf:

The boys are growing up – full of confidence and have become very beautiful serval indeed. Since a bit of enclosure clearing has happened they are more approachable, Bilbo apparently has developed a taste for “Crocs” (plastic slip on shoes) and this is all due to time and effort being put it by Rick Passaportis of Bushman Rock. All the serval are taming down and have become a lot more approachable since Rick has personally got involved, using various methods of bribery which occasionally includes boiled eggs. Due to the current situation here in Zimbabwe, we have all agreed that perhaps now is not the time to be releasing serval. So Rick has very kindly agreed to increase the serval enclosure sizes so that they are able to have more interaction with nature, but still remain protected in a semi-captive environment.

Kusanganisa

The most important news is that our new Minister of Education, Minister Coltart, has shown an interest in the Kusanganisa program. To be recognised as a potential addition to the national curriculum of a country is very encouraging. To know that the Government is in agreement that the national curriculum has to obtain information regarding our natural flora and fauna is very encouraging.

In the schools, the Kusanganisa program continues despite the challenges presented to the teachers. One of the biggest problems is that the government has not addressed the issue of Teacher’s salaries and this has been pegged at a static nominal amount since January of this year. The Teachers then have to travel to a bank to withdraw their money and may have to queue for hours if not days to get it. Despite this hardship, their enthusiasm for Kusanganisa has not wavered and we salute them for their dedication.

The start of the second term brought some interesting information to light at Nehanda School. First off there was an impromptu essay competition about: “My favourite animal”, initiated by one of the Grade 7 teachers. It yielded some interesting results to say the least – one young man was enamoured with anacondas, especially for their ability to make good boots and the fact that they like to eat people. Although this is exactly the opposite of the attitude we are hoping to cultivate with Kusanganisa, it gave us an indication that it was time to go back to the basics and re-instil some “correct” animal knowledge and conservational principles! It also reminded us that not every human is born to love animals!

In 2008 we donated an older model Apple Mac computer to Nehanda School, much to the delight and excitement of students and teachers alike. However, without the skills to utilize the machine, it may as well be a glorified paper weight. So we decided that this was an ideal opportunity to teach the teachers. We are pleased to say that the first training session for the teachers in basic computers was well received and resulted in some lively discussions. You try to explain why it is called a “mouse” and not a “rat”………………

Other news

In the past few recent months, we have been working on a project that is very fundamental to the Trust, and that is the subject of animal welfare in captivity. Welfare of wildlife in Captivity has been one of my main concerns ever since I started working with wildlife. If the world was perfect, I would like to only see wild animals living as their name states in the wild. However, this is not likely to ever happen and therefore regulations and policies must be put in place where ever there are institutions who have wildlife, Zimbabwe being no exception. Our last newsletter focused on our first training course with the Department of National Parks personal. I would just like to once again say a huge thank you to both Roxy Danckwerts who allowed us the privilege of holding the course at her wildlife sanctuary, and to both Mr Chadenga and Mr Inhidza, of National Parks for supporting the initiative and believing that this project is of paramount importance to Zimbabwe.

In Conclusion

Zimbabwe remains an every changing environment. One, can never be sure what they are going to wake up too, each and every morning. However, we are proud to be part of this country, her wildlife and hopefully the rebuilding of an industry that once flourished – wildlife! If it were not for like minded people, such as yourselves who have supported us through thick and thin, we would most certainly not be able to battle forward with a positive outlook and hope in our hearts. Our most sincere thank you, to you our sponsors.