On behalf of the Tikki Hywood Trust and myself, we would sincerely like to thank you for your very generous and kind donation which will go towards our vet supplies, specifically your donation will go towards the purchasing of 2.5 ml and 1 ml syringes, as well as needles. You have no idea how much we value your support and contribution. Without which we would not be able to continue the plight of conserving these small mammals.

Thank you, kind regards

Lisa

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What is the ultimate aim of the Tikki Hywood Trust?

The Tikki Hywood Trust aims to conserve Southern Africa’s lesser-known species by utilizing education and conservation as stepping-stones towards a future where humans live in harmony with wildlife.

We have come to realise in this growing economic hardship that few children in rural areas actually get to complete high school. If children do not attain the necesary survival skills for rural life at a primary school level, then their future is shadowed indeed. We currently operate our Kusanganisa (a Shona word, meaning “come together”) program within 3 schools in Zimbabwe and each are situated near a release site for the animals the Trust works with. In time we hope that this can expand and include all areas of Zimbabwe. What is the Kusanganisa Conservation Club?

PHASE 1 – CHIDZIRO ‘Laying the foundations’ Grade 1 – Grade 3

Before we can ask children to save the earth, first we must teach them to love it. The Tikki Hywood Trust will harness children’s innate sense of wonder and encourage them to explore the earth’s natural beauty whilst facilitating experiences that allow children to connect with African wildlife. Objectives:

• Identify and recognize different African animals

• Competently group animals into basic groups. e.g. bird, insect etc.

• Explore local environments and develop skills that will enable children to identify the presence of wildlife. eg. Scats etc.

• Describe unique attributes of different animals via observations eg. Patterns etc.

PHASE 2 – KUDZWA ‘Developing an understanding of our natural world’ Grade 4 – Grade 6

Children must develop an understanding of our interconnected environment before they can live in balance with the natural world.

Objectives:

• Develop an understanding of our interconnected relationships within our environment

• Develop a greater appreciation for the animals that live within our environment

• Develop an understanding of different social structures within the animal world Investigate a variety of adaptations that enable animals to survive

• Investigate the importance of habitat and the consequences of habitat loss.

• Investigate the importance of earth’s natural resources eg. Water

• Explore potential threats to wildlife and the consequences of extinction

PHASE 3 - KURANGARIRA ‘Providing students with the skills needed to live sustainably’
Grade 7

Through the participation of sustainable practices student develop knowledge, skills and behaviours that have the potential to benefit local communities and allow children to make informed life-style choices.

Objectives:

• Consolidate prior understandings of animal requirements

• Develop respect for animal needs and value

• Develop skills that enable students to embark on sustainable practices.

Within phase 3 of the program there are livestock rearing projects to teach the children sustainable farming practices on a small scale. These projects include developing medicinal gardens, raising rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens as well as small scale market gardening projects.

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Dear Readers,

We are posting the last newsletter that we send out (December 2007). We hope you enjoy reading it, many of the names actually refer to animals in our care and where possible we have tried to put the species in brackets next to the name so that you can visualise them!

Tikki Hywood TrustDecember 2007 Newsletter Another year is soon to come to an end.  2007 has been a year where we have witness tragedy on a grand scale here in
Zimbabwe.   One animal after another has been sacrifice yet again for man’s greed.  When the economy and the status quo of a country are turned onto its head, then the wildlife will be at risk of being pawned for man’s requirements.  How does a conservation organization inspire hope at a time like this?  How do we reassure our sponsors that we are all moving in the right direction?  Only by divulging the truth.   

My heart has been broken in two on more than one occasion this year.  At the sight of the Chiredzi area, which in my opinion is just one step away from looking like Mars!  Deforestation, burning and with both of those of course comes mass poaching and loss of wildlife.  The loss of Tilly, to yet another situation of ignorance.  The short life which Phiri (Lichtenstein’s hartebeest calf) shared with us and his fight for survival.  The one thing this year has taught me is the strong desire that wildlife have to survive, no matter what their species is or what age they are – the on thing they share is a natural instinct that everything is about survival.  Perhaps this is a lesson for all of us during these hard times here in
Zimbabwe. The Tikki Hywood Trust would like to welcome Ellen Connelly to our family in August of this year.  Her arrival could not have come at a more appropriate time!  Due to the size of our furry family’s growth, together with more and more data required to be documented and orphans arriving at a fairly fast and furious pace, Ellen has been a huge asset to the Trust.   

September On 1^st September “Phiri” (Shona for number three) a new born male Lichtenstein’s hartebeest arrived at the Trust’s headquarters.  Rick & Sally Passaportis of Bushman Rock Estates had been observing Phiri the whole morning after their scouts had notified them about the abandoned calf.  On arrival to the Trust Phiri could not stand, due to being very weak and dehydrated. With lots of encouragement and stimulation I managed to get him to stand and not long after that got him to suck his first few sips of a milk bottle. 
There is nothing quiet like having a young antelope bleating at you and following you around.  It has to be said that your heart just melts particularly when you looking into those huge milk chocolate eyes!  Later that same night Phiri started getting lethargic and weak, he had a huge drop in temperature. We managed to get his temperature up and stabilize him by putting him onto a glucose solution rather than milk for the rest of the evening. By the next day it was very apparent that there was a serious problem with Phiri, He seemed very lethargic, lying out flat and his gums were a dark blue/red colour. We consulted with Dr. Astrid Huelin and she confirmed on examination that we were dealing with toxicosis – a general bacterial infection that crept in and was poisoning his system. Antibiotics were started immediately and by midday there was a marked improvement. During the day he stood several times and took his glucose solution alternating with a colostrum formula for lambs.  Due to his obvious discomfort we administered painkillers to assist with the inflammation and irritation in his system. Day 3 – 3^rd September: Again during the early hours of the morning his temperature dropped and he became lethargic. He is kept warm in a basket with a mohair blanket and a small heat pad. We also put warmed bean bags around him to keep him snug. At that point it was imperative to get some food into his stomach as he was getting weaker so he was put back on milk formula interspersed with glucose solution. A potential worry then was aspiration pneumonia as there was a slight crackling sound in his breathing. Also, because he was not taking in the volume that he should have, he was getting partially dehydrated so Lisa decided to use a stomach tube to get some food into him. He took this very patiently, knowing that we were fighting hard for him as he was so willing to live too. By that afternoon however we have another further setback – he has now developed a middle ear infection which causes his eyes to twitch (like he is dizzy – which he was) and his head is twitching to the side. This is treated with further antibiotics in consultation with Dr. Huelin’s partner – Dr. Petros L. To help with the dehydration he was also getting Ringer’s Lactate subcutaneously - the fluid then dispersed easily into his system from under the skin.  

Day 4 – 4^th September: Although weak during the early hours of that morning, when Dr. Petros came to check Phiri, he noticed an improvement. He was not dehydrated, was holding his head up on his own and the twitching from the middle ear infection seemed to have slowed down. Over this day though there were ups and downs – we notice that when Phiri gets agitated or when he is in pain his twitching got worse. He had moments when his sucking reflex was very strong and then very weak. However, the fluid given subcutaneously was giving him a boost and late in the afternoon he decided that he is very hungry and sucks well.  He is also weighed and we discover that he was heavier than initially estimated.  Day 5 – 5^th September: late the previous evening and early hours of the morning he was weakening. Not able to stand properly on his own and was showing no interest in food, no sucking reflex. His gut was distending with gas and he had not passed a decent stool in a fair number of hours. Lisa gave him activated charcoal which is excellent for gastric upsets and absorbing toxins and gases. We were still giving him subcutaneous fluid which was being rapidly absorbed by his body.  He was definitely struggling this day with air in his gut; he was trying to push it out but seemed too weak to do so. Even with glycerin suppositories, a mineral enema and a warm soapy water enema to try to get things stimulated nothing much happens. Late that afternoon Dr. Chris Foggin examined him and managed to place a drip in place for some intravenous fluid. He also looked for any blockage in the rectum but could not find any. What he did find was a heavy inflammation in the stomach and this was causing a lot of pain. We continue with the I.V. fluid during the night to keep Phiri rehydrated.  

Day 6 – 6^th September: Phiri was declining rapidly, he was sleeping a lot. Although he was responding to our ministrations he was very tired and it seemed the multiple infections were overwhelming him. Finally, at 10:15am with help from Dr. Petros, we released him from the agony and for the first time in his little life he slept peacefully.   Letting an animal “go” is one of the biggest lessons which I have had to learn over the last 13 years of working with wild animals.  Nothing will prepare you to say goodbye to a little face who has entrusted so much faith and trust into you, who looks at you for the guidance and reassurance for the future.  When you can not offer this – you of course are going to feel like you have failed this little life. 

Siam our African wild cat, who was imported from
South Africa, has grown from strength to strength not only in stature but in character.  Every time I look at
Siam I know that he belongs here with us.  We have watched him develop into a cat over this past month, learning to mark the ground and spray.  Even though there are times when I do think he wonders what this is all for – he has dug deep within himself and started to discover that he is a wild cat and there are things which he should be doing and I believe he is loving every moment.  Thankfully due to his nature we have managed to train him onto the collar and lead as well as to go in a basket.  He loves his walks and watching the rabbits, tail twitching and eyes darting from one rabbit to another.  You can just imagine him saying “here little bunny here!” 

Francis’s (African civet) transition has not been so smooth.  Her pacing remains the biggest hurdle for us to over come.  On the 2 October 2007, she started going outside into the nursery pen for two or so hours at a time.  By the 13 October 2007, she had improved so much and enjoyed being in the nursery pen to such an extent that she spent her first night outside.  I am not too sure who was more nervous - her or me!  Then by the 15 October we were able to stop all drug treatment as the pacing had stopped and Francis seemed to be adjusting well to her new home. Due to the nature of Francis’ problem (known as a stereotypical behaviour) finding the right drugs to help her was a challenge. Essentially she would need some chemical assistance, as no natural means (e.g. physical distraction or food) could break the habit. At the same time, because she is young and had been hand reared we had to find something that could be used that was minimally invasive, easy to administer and without major long-term dependency.  We finally settled on a human drug called Amitriptyline which is a tricyclic antidepressant. It has been used in animals to help with things like obsessive grooming behaviour as well as spraying in cats. So far we are pleased with the results of the drugs, however we must stress that this is small part of helping Francis with her problem, she is getting a  lot of love, attention and stimulation and is constantly being reminded what a beautiful civet girl she is! 

In September we decided that the time had come for us to move the enclosures off Mazowe and rebuild at Bushman Rock Estates.  Over the past year Bushman Rock has gone from strength to strength.  The Passiportis’s commitment to conservation at a time like this in
Zimbabwe is admirable.  We would like to thank all at Bushman Rock for their continued support and the opportunity they have afforded us with allowing the building of the enclosures for the carnivores.  There are a few nicknames which I believe Rick has found for me over this time!!!  Once the enclosures had been completed, the two orphan serval, Bilbo and Gandalf as well as Shenzi (adult female serval) were moved to Bushman Rock together with Atlantic – African wild cat.  The boys loved being in their new found space exploring in the long grass, chasing grasshoppers and climbing trees.  The feeling one experience when you have watched a young, helpless and abandoned creature all of a sudden reach, the stage of adult hood and independence is so rewarding.  The next step is to introduce the boys to Shenzi; the one she accepts will be her partner for a litter of kittens.  Due to the boys’ age this will not be scheduled until late next year. OctoberOctober started on a very bad footing.  Beluka my little yellow tiger (african wild cat with specific colouring), developed panleukopenia.  The survival rate for a wild animal in captivity with panleukopenia is 0.01%.  My beautiful baby literally melted into the ground in front of my eyes.  With panleukopenia the biggest problem is the dehydration, which the animal experiences.   Due to his bad state of health he was moved into my bedroom so that I could keep a watchful eye on him throughout the night and day.  Beluka was a star patient, allowing me not only to inject him twice daily with an antibiotic, but he allowed me to administer a minimum of 70 to 80 mls of fluids subcutaneously every two hours. No sooner did we think that he had turned the corner he started bleeding from the nose and vomiting.  Finally after five weeks of constant care Beluka returned to his own enclosure to be with
Minsk his brother and friend.  What an amazing day and sense of achievement it was to see him outside and walking around.  Beluka would not have survived without the help and constant checking by both Keith Dutlow and Lisa Maribini, a huge thank you to the two of them, and Ellen without whom I would not have had the encouragement and support to push so hard for five weeks.  Each illness, which these animals under go, are felt by each and every one of us here at the Trust.   

Apart from Beluka’s hiccup the next bump was Frodo.  Frodo a young male serval hit by a car in the close proximity of
Harare had a broken front left leg as well as having badly damaged hindquarters from being dragged by the car.  You could say that his condition was severe and critical. Frodo was picked up on 3^rd October and then on the 4^th October 2007 he under went his first operation to pin the fractured leg.  Five days later an x-ray was taken only to find out that the pin had cause damaged to the bone due to the softness of the bone as Frodo was a young animal and also in very poor condition.  After removing the pin the decision had to be made - what was the next best thing for Frodo?At this point we were devastated as all our efforts now had not really been productive for Frodo; he was now back to square one. On the 15 October 2007 Keith and Lisa had to place a plate inside the leg to try and hold the broken bone in place.  This operation took just under four hours as fragments of bone had to be removed as well as making sure there was no nerve damage during the operation.  Huge thanks goes to both Keith and Lisa for their dedication and constant support towards Frodo’s case.  The operation went well and Frodo returned to the Trust’s headquarters to recover from his massive operation.  After five days Frodo was once again pole syringed so that he could have his stitches taken out and the plate x-rayed to see if all was healing in his leg.  As Frodo had been living between two crates in the hope that he would not put unnecessary weight on his leg – we now felt that is was time to get Frodo outside into sunlight with more space so that he could start enjoying life as a serval once again.  The outside space was very nerve racking for Frodo and once the Acuphase (a long acting tranquilizer) had worn off Frodo challenged the fence and seem very panicked and stressed.  Dr Foggin was called in to once again check Frodo’s leg and make sure that no more damaged had occurred to the leg now that he had been running up and down the fence as well as challenging the electric fence.  On inspection of the leg, there was no apparent damage, so we decide that the outside world for Frodo at this point was just too soon.  Frodo was moved into the house and into the nursery room.  Where he remained until enough time had passed for the leg to heal.  On the 27^th November Frodo was once again knocked down and x-rayed to see if his leg had healed.  Great news the leg was looking great!  So Frodo was moved to an outside enclosure which had been built at Keith and Lisa’s house.  Frodo will remain there until we feel his condition and leg is fully healed, before entering the release program.  As Frodo was a wild serval from the beginning the release side of his reintroduction we feel will be smooth, the most important thing is to make sure he is physically strong enough to fend for himself in the wild. Due to the Beluka’s illness we decided that all the cats needed to have complete blood work done to give us more of an idea as to what a healthy animal’s blood should be like as opposed to a sick animal.  Keith Dutlow and Lisa Marabini (wildlife veterinarians) came to anaesthetize the cats and do the blood sampling.  Being wild animals, each animal has to be sedated in order for us to take the required blood which is around 10 mls per cat.  Once all the sampling was achieved, the blood samples which could not be tested here in Zimbabwe were sent to
South Africa for testing.  We are delighted to say that after all the testing we can safely report that all our cats are healthy and we now have a set of blood values for both African wild cats and serval as a standard.  

On the 29 October 2007, I went down to Bulawayo to visit Stonehills Wildlife Conservancy where we have a release site, as well asMarula
Primary School.  As the rains were nearing the release of both Muffet and Rafiki (serval) would be soon.  However the collar which we originally fitted on Muffet was not very suitable.  The antenna got in her way and did not fit well around her neck as she is such a small serval. We had redesigned a new type of collar for our cats which we hope will not only fit well around their neck but that the antenna which now runs down their backs between their shoulders, will not interfere with any of the cats natural activities in the wild.  Due to Muffet’s size and nature, we were able to use only Dormicum (tablet form taken orally), which allowed me to remove the old collar and place the new collar onto her.  She was also sprayed with Frontline for external parasites.  Rafiki being a lot wilder than Muffet, had Dormicum first and then a pole syringe was used to inject him with Ketamine and Rompun.  By using these drugs Rafiki was totally anaesthetized which enable us to take his measurements, vaccinate him and collar him.  The next day both cats remained very sedated but were kept out of harms way.  Once Muffet and Rafiki have been released we will be moving the first African wild cats to Stonehills for release sometime in 2008. 

The visit toMarula
Primary School went very well.  It will never cease to amaze me at just how dedicated the teachers here in
Zimbabwe are.  With hardly anything, these teachers have remained committed to the future of the children they teach.  We have unfortunately started losing teachers to across the border for the simple reason of more money which is available in
South Africa.   

Mrs Dube the Headmistress is a dedicated and admirable lady who has under taken the huge responsibility of making sure the school runs as smoothly as possible, which is no easy task at times like these in
Zimbabwe.  My main concern for Marula was that the Phase 3 part of Kusanganisa was not really running parallel to Phase 1 and 2.  However I am now delighted to say that we have been very fortunate to find Pierre de Jaeger who has a farming project called “Farming God’s Way”.  This is a philosophy which work very closely along the lines of our Kusanganisa project, and that is respect for the land.  Now Marula has six 10 x 10 meter plots which are all under maize. This is all very exciting and something which in time will increase with other crops. Then hopefully when we get to the point of being able to grow our own feed for live stock, we will then go into farming both goats and chickens.  We would like to thank Ivan Craig of Seed Co for his support and supplying us with the 25 kgs of maize which was required for Marula.  Seed in
Zimbabwe is a rare as hen’s teeth so we are delighted that Ivan has taken our Kusanganisa Project on board and is happy to support it.   Seeing as we are on Kusanganisa, October also sawNehanda
Primary School’s rabbit breeding project being launched.  A 7 x 6 meter enclosure was erected for the rabbits with the three rabbit hutches.  The first lot of rabbits consisted of 1 buck and 5 does.  The children, who excelled at Kusanganisa within the Phase 1 and 2, were allowed to name these rabbits.  This project has been very rewarding both for the school as well as the children who all partake in the daily feeding and cleaning of the rabbits.  We look forward to our first litter of rabbits which will be the final reward for this project.   We would like to take this opportunity to offer a huge debt of gratitude to the Royal Embassy of the
Netherlands who have supported the rabbit breeding projects financially in our three schools. Without their input, this phase of the Kusanganisa project would not have been possible at this point and the impact that it has had at

The last exciting piece of news in October was to do with the genets - to be exact Munchkin was confirmed to be pregnant.  As the male genets are very aggressive and have a tendency to kill even their own young, we move Munchkin into her own enclosure which had two nesting boxes.  At first Rags (father to be) was rather distressed however the two genets have now settled into their new separate homes. November The Tikki Hywood Trust is delighted to welcome Julian Howard as a new Trustee.  Julian has not only been a sponsor towards the Trust since our inception, but he has also offered sound advice and solutions towards some of the issues we as a NGO in
Zimbabwe face.  Therefore it is seemingly fitting that someone with the experience and knowledge of the Zimbabwean situation join strengths with us for our next phase of development as a conservation vehicle. It is now more than ever that our dedication to the plight of
Zimbabwe’s wildlife will be amplified and it is testament to those who continue to support and promote the very necessary work that the Trust does. May we all continue this co-operation and hopefully one day the future generations will get to appreciate what many take for granted here and now. 

November was a month for hedgehogs.  Since last year we have been desperately looking for more breeding stock in order to continue our hedgehog breeding project.  Thankfully due to Trust promotional efforts in
Bulawayo, we have been sent a few orphan hedgehogs.  However hedgehogs are not easy creatures to be involved with.  With just the slight change of temperature or wrong food, huge complications can arise with and death is inevitable.   The first two hogs the Trust received were adult males who are doing very well and have been called Tommy and Moley Warp.  (All the hedgehogs are named after Beatrix Potter characters!).  When they arrived there were some complications with living space. For a start, Siam (African wild cat) was using the round house as night quarters so that he could start seeing Asia, Paris and
Versailles (other African wild cat) and have some controlled interactions with them. The round house was designed to take the hedgehogs, but Siam was doing so well and developing quite a rapport with
Asia that it seemed sad to break it up. So, the hedgehogs took up residence on the cottage balconies! However, at the onset of the rains it become awkward to keep them dry and they spent some time in the cottage shower as well – so we decided to re-arrange living quarters so that they could move into the round house permanently. No sooner had we settled the boys in routine and then a “box” of baby hedgehogs arrives at the Trust on 12^th November. There were four to start off with, but two had already succumbed whilst in transit, one was barely moving and the last slightly more alive. We assumed they were about three weeks old. The weaker of the two survivors had a terrible face wound, presumably from a dog bite and was very lethargic and cold. Unfortunately the baby did not last longer than a couple of hours. The survivor was christened “Beatrix” and she took to milk quite strongly but sadly she only survived until the early hours of 15^th November. The arrival of babies did not stop there however; shortly before the hedgehogs we received two orphaned genets. A male and female both dehydrated and still with streaks of blood on their fur from birth. Both of them weighed in at less than 100g, and from their size we estimated that they could not have been older that a few days. We got them onto a glucose solution as quick as possible to try and boost their energy levels and get their hydration up and they responded quickly. The next step was getting them onto a suitable milk formula. We started off on a human milk formula for newborn babies (S26) but within less than 24 hours we discovered that this was not agreeing with their systems at all. We then went onto the tried and trusted formula used by the Trust on previous babies and we are ecstatic to report they are happy & healthy genets! All the genets the Trust now receives will be named after perfume houses, so these two cuties are “
Coco” and “Dior”.  

After much anticipation, the only planned arrival of babies was the birth of Munchkin’s two kits on 15^th November! She has been an exemplary mother; her babies are happy, healthy and as big if not bigger than Coco & Dior. This goes to show that there is no substitute for mother’s milk. Munchkin has had endless patience with her human family constantly gawking at her two bundles of joy – she even receives breakfast, lunch & dinner in bed if she so chooses! We are not certain of the babies’ sex as yet but whatever they may be, they have made history in being the result of a successful genet breeding program.  A Special Thanks Goes To:From all at the Tikki Hywood Trust we have very big and sincere thanks to make to Trixie Rhodes our volunteer from
Australia.  Trixie arrived, accent and all into all of our lives.  She entered the hearts of all our animals – but mainly a huge bond was formed between her and Hooch our female African wild cat.  Trixie had the most amazing patience when walking the cats on their daily walks.  Each cat was given Trixie’s undivided attention.  Asia being Asia, often abused this situation and you would see Trixie standing very patiently waiting for
Asia to have her “cat – nap” before continuing on the walk. But it was not only the cats that were given lavish attention, even tortoises were dutifully carried to water when Trixie felt that they could not access it properly. It was also not unusual to see her with rabbit or “chook” in hand, and she was known to share her lunch with a certain grey rabbit on a regular occasion.  Trixie has been an invaluable help to the Trust and we will sorely miss her, not the least Hooch who pricks her ears on hearing that familiar Australian accent!   

Croplink, which is a local Agricultural Commodity Brokering Company has been invaluable. Not only have they offered their agronomist, Wilson Muchenje to assist with our Kanganisa Project at Nehanda, but they have very kindly offered to collect the  Irvines chicken culls.   This has got to be one the most loathed tasks which I have had to undertake for the past seven years.  Now not to have to see the little fluffy chicks alive and well, and then in the back of my car dead, is such a relief.  Thank you to Roy Ormerod and all at Croplink for their assistance in this regard and also for their light hearted sense of humour during these interesting times here in
Zimbabwe. Willowmead (fruit and vegetable vendors) have been fantastic with their weekly supply of reject fruit and vegetables for the civet, genet and hedgehogs.  This contributes hugely to our daily requirements for the above mentioned animals.   

Rachel Lowry of Werribee Open Range Zoo has been amazing with the support and guidance she has shown towards our Kusanganisa Project.  We are hoping that both Rachel and one other Conservation Educational Officer will be returning to
Zimbabwe in early 2008 to run another workshop for the schools with which the Trust is involved with through the Kusanganisa Project.  Last but by no means least we would like to extent our appreciation to Save Australia.  They have continued to support not only the Tikki Hywood Trust here in
Zimbabwe, but many other organizations who are involved wildlife.  Save are one of the few international charities who support wildlife causes within
Zimbabwe.  When many international groups have pulled out of
Zimbabwe due to political reasons over the past seven years, Save has remained steadfast in their support.  As this year draws rapidly to a close, we must take a moment to reflect on the highs & lows that we have weathered. Without the gracious support and encouragement from all our sponsors this would have been an even more monumental task. The piece of history that we are living right now in
Zimbabwe is truly a testing ground for one’s sense of purpose. With all the horrors and travesty being committed to wildlife in our country on a daily basis, we know now more than ever that the work we are doing with the Trust is a ray of warming sunshine on an otherwise clouded circumstance. We take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks to all organizations, groups and individuals who have been threads in our web of support. May we also offer everyone warmest wishes for the approaching festive season, and hope that is it spent in peace, love and joy.

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It may take Lisa a few days to get used to this blog technology - especially on Zimbabwe internet speeds. So to help her from Nairobi office, I’m posting this one as a quick test….

Can YOU identify these different species based on Lisa’s descriptions?

Who am I? My name is deceptive and I’m not very big, but my teeth are pretty impressive for my size … nearly the proportions of a Saber Toothed Tiger!

No, I’m not a racoon, but I am just as cheekly. Do you know who I am?

We are feared predators… feared by our small prey. Do you know who we are?

I might not look like much but you’ll be surprised by my pounce. Who am I?

We do not look endangered……. who are we?

I am not a pangolin or a porcupine but I have some bigger european cousins……….what am I?

Good luck…

Paula

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Dear Readers
Many thanks for your amazing support which you have already shown towards both our projects and Zimbabwe. Please bare with us, over the next few days whilst we are up dating our Blog both with further information as well as photos. Not only am I not the world’s greatest technology wiz but Zimbabwe is experiencing both a go slow from the internet world as well as a fair amount of power cuts!!!

Right now Zimbabwe is a country who needs not only positive thoughts from around the world but for people to know that there are still people within Zimbabwe who believe in this country and the importance of her wildlife. Zimbabwe has been the fore runner in the conservation world for many years and we all look forward to that time once again.

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Lichtenstein’s hartebeestwere once the widest ranging antelope in Southern Africa, being found from the Mediterranean to the Cape. Due to the Rindepest epidemic, poaching and civil war in Zimbabwe and South Africa, numbers are now excessively low. Because there are so few Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, the Zimbabwean Government has placed them on the Specially Protected Animals list. This means that the penalties are harsher for poachers who kill them, either by high fines or imprisonment. CITES has placed them on Appendix II. This gregarious antelope is territorial. The male stands as a sentry when under threat, allowing the herd to escape unharmed.

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In Africa there is no other animal that even slightly resembles the pangolin, it has been said that it resembles an artichoke! Another name for the pangolin is scaly anteater. This name originates from the scales that are made of fused hair, similar to that of a rhino’s horn or human fingernail. These scales cover the neck, body, tail and sides of the legs. The pangolin has a long snoutand specially adapted tongue, the body is slim and flexible with a long tail. The front legs of a pangolin have long claws, which are used for digging up ant and termite mounds. The males can weigh up to 15.9 kgs.

If attacked, the pangolin rolls into a tight defensive ball, which often leads to them becoming entangled in - and killed by - electric fencing. The scales are used in traditional medicine and in the Shona culture they are an ultimate gift to a chief. This makes pangolins very susceptible to poaching.

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Due to habitat loss and extensive farming, serval numbers in Africa are seriously declining. The serval population can only be regarded as secure when they are living in protected areas, such as private reserves or National Parks.

Serval can be found throughout Southern Africa in the countries of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. They prefer dense grasslands to wetlands, but are always near water. In the tall grasslands theycan hide and find a wide variety of prey. Serval can jump up to 15 ft in the air and they have extremely acute hearing.

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The main predator of the hedgehog is man, being used as food and for their perceived medicinal purposes in traditional medicine. Hedgehogs are also killed on roads. As well as this, the loss of habitat and agricultural expansion are both detrimental to the hedgehog’s survival.

Hedgehogs have small spines which cover their body. A spine is thick, stiff hair similar to that of a rhino’s horn. The under body, together with the legs are covered with coarse hair. The males are smaller than the females, weighing between 240 - 480 grams only. When threatened, the hedgehog can roll up into a spiney ball by contracting a circular muscle which acts as a purse string.

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Records show that the Egyptians genetically re-engineered the African wild cat more than 5,000 years ago as they wanted a hairless cat to control the numbers of mice and rats in their granaries.

The integrity of Felis lybica as a species (or sub-species) is threatened by the influx of Felis cattus (domestic cat) genes through cross breeding. Therefore they have been classed as vulnerable in the Red Data Book and placed on CITES appendix II.

African wild cats are found throughout Southern Africa in all habitats except desert, they hide in holes in the ground, caves, rock crevices, holes in trees, thickets and burrows during the day.

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