Zimbabwe Seven

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 28 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

On behalf of us at the Tikki Hywood Trust and the wildlife in Zimbabwe, we would like to sincerely thank you for your support, concerns and prayers.  We all await with baited breath as to what the future will hold for all of us here.  No matter what the road, we will continue with the plight of Zimbabwe and the survival of her wildlife.  The task is mammoth and seems to be growing on a daily basis with the demand for bush meat.  Economics and politics - there are no words.

Right now it seems as though Zimbabwe has become an island to the rest of the world, however thanks to the tremendous support which has been shown through our blog, we know that we are not alone and that the support from all of you will be the boat that carries us to land.

What this spot - we are here to stay!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 26 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

It is the eve before elections or should I say re-elections here in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe, a country whose soils run red with the blood of so many animals and humans lives wastefully taken. I struggle to understand, the purpose, of all of this blood shed.

A week ago, I was told “that nature is forgiving”. Yes she is. Given the right environment and protection – she will burst into life once again. Colours will splash her canvas, and births will litter her land. I sit tonight with a heavy heart and in anticipation as to what might take place after tomorrow. Will it be a fairytale ending or the beginnings of something which none of us here in Zimbabwe have the strength for? There is so much indecision in the air. Hope that God might just turn his light towards us and end this suffering.

I have dreams of seeing areas which once had an abundance of wildlife, now having those animals back again. Walking and grazing without fear in harmony with their surroundings. Not running scared. Trees growing skywards, and not just stumps. Rolling lands full of grasses, not charred land burnt to a cinder. A land where your heart jumps with the sound of the fish eagles calling and the bark of an impala. My childhood memories of filled with different scenes taken around this land I call home – Zimbabwe.

On this eve, may there be a prayer from each and every one of you who read this. May we pray for the lives lost, for the sadness and despair to end. For those who are guilty of sins to be made accountable for those sins. For hope to return to this land. She is tired and wishes to once again be the mother of hope, love and mercy. Her heart waits to sing once again.

I bow my head in prayer and with sadness ask for humanity to once again reign over us. After tonight, may the sadness and fear, be replaced in our hearts with hope and sing with joy.

To all of those who pray for our land – I thank you.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 24 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

On behalf of both myself and all of us who were involved with Nyashe, we would like to sincerely thank you, the readers of our blog, for your amazing concern and kind words toward our very sad story, regarding Nyashe. We can only hope that through this sadness, there will one of these days (hopefully sooner rather than later) be stories of happiness.

A huge thank you to you for your support and encouragement towards our plight here in Zimbabwe.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 21 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

This story is one of true sadness. On Wednesday 18 June 2008, I received an urgent call from The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, saying that yet another white rhino mother had been poached and had left a young orphan calf behind. Instantly Dr Astrid Huelin and I collected all the drugs and necessary equipment to address the possible situation we would encounter once we were on site.

With a multitude of emotions, such as anger, anxiety, sadness as well as a glimmer of perhaps hope that just maybe we could do something for this little innocent who now lying dying beside his dead mother.

It was an hour’s drive to where the mother and baby were being kept. From the reports the baby’s situation was not good. He was motionless and the parks officials did not think he would make it due to the severe injuries. But there was nothing to prepare me when I arrived on the scene and saw this helpless, motionless freezing little body. There lay this perfect body covered in blood. When kneeling down, I could feel that this little baby’s body was ice cold – but there was a slight pulse. We filled hot water bottles; cover the body with blankets and a space blanket in the hopes of bringing up his temperature. One of the biggest problems with orphan animals is shock and hypothermia. A baby will die due to hypothermia.

Gently rubbed his body, talking to him softly all the time in the hopes of bring him some support and comfort. His face was covered with blood! On the front of his face there were four axe marks, which zigzagged across his face. Two of these cuts were at least an inch deep. He had lost a fair amount of blood due to these injuries. We administered a drip to increase the fluids and in the hopes of giving him energy to fight. He was injected with a pain killer. This little body was not warming up!!!!

“Please help anyone!” this cannot be allowed to happen – he has done nothing he is innocent!! – kept going through my mind. If only I could wave a magic wand and take all his suffering away. What man continues to do for his own greed is something I will not ever understand – when you see this helpless creature fighting for his life or in this case this little baby wishing to join his mother, your heart can only but break!

The Parks scouts were with us and they too were angered by what had taken place in their park the night before. One saving grace is that the poachers – all four of them were apprehended and are now in jail awaiting the charge of poaching one of not only Zimbabwe’s rarest animal but the world’s!!! Mr Elson Gwanyanya, the head Warden, helped us to get the baby who had now been named Nyasha by the Parks scouts, into our vehicle so that we could get him the care he needed. Nyasha in Shona means hope, peace and mercy. This little baby boy rhino could not have been more aptly named.

After trying to stabilize Nyasha we got the necessary approval to take him to where we would try and raise him if he were going to survive. Imire, it was decided was the most appropriate place to take him. Imire is a game park and sanctuary to wildlife and some of Zimbabwe’s remaining black rhino. It is owned by John and Judy Travers. Late last year four of their rhinos were poached or rather slaughtered, leaving behind Tatenda yet another male orphan calf.

Another 1 ½ hour road trip lay ahead of us. The heater was on full ball to try and get Nyasha’s body temperature up. He was now onto his second drip which was feeding into him via a vein in his ear. Nyasha and I shared a warm moment when I called him as if I were another rhino and his ear moved. This was hope and that is all any of us needed. The wounds keep bleeding, but at this point they seemed clean and I had put antiseptic ointment into them which was all I could do. How can I watch this baby lying in front of me, in pain, terrified and on the verge of meeting his Maker! This is all wrong. Wrong so wrong!

As part of the human race my heart cries for all of us. What lay before me was only a picture of perfection, defaced by the hands of man. Yet now in the hopes of saving him, there was only so much we could do – was that going to be enough? After an hour on the road, we had a blow out! Astrid drove us to safety and there we all sat, just for a moment. Then, it was action stations and Astrid, Star and Gabrielle (Gabrielle and Star are vets wanting to learn more about wildlife) jump out to quickly change the tyre. The car was left on so that the heater remained on to keep Nyasha comfortable.

“What – no jack?”

It was getting dark and we were on the side of the road in Zimbabwe ten days before the elections. Let me tell you it was not the most comfortable feeling that I had ever felt before. Astrid literally jumped into the road to stop the first car! Visions of a critically wounded rhino together with a wounded vet did pass through my mind. But thankfully two cars stopped to help us and there was only complete and utter concern on everyone’s face and minds as soon as they had heard our plight and situation. 30 minutes later we were off. Silence fell on the vehicle, I am sure we all were in our different ways praying for this baby’s survival.

We had contacted Imire before leaving Harare, to warn them that we were coming with an injured rhino. On arriving at Imire, we could see that they had worked most of the afternoon erecting a manger where Nyasha was to go. Due to his critically low body temperature, there was no way he could stay outside – it would kill him. We arranged a mattress with duvets and blankets in front of the fire in the sitting room. Then four people carried Nyasha from the vehicle to inside, to be by the fire. Once he had settled we explained what we had administered to Nyasha and what would be required over the next 48 hours. As he was only a month old, we decided to try and feed him milk. You must realise however that Nyasha was so weak that to do this was not going to be easy. With Judy holding the bottle of milk, another person holding his head and with me trying to massage his throat gently, to make him swallow. After about 10 minutes, he had drunk 100 mls. Exhausted - we let him sleep. Talking softly and rubbing his little body in the hopes that he would start to warm up.

This is what Nyasha faced in order to recover from his injuries;

He had a head trauma and more than likely the axe had reached his skull if not his brain. With any head injury there is a possibility that his brain would swell.

He had lost a lot of blood.

His body temperature was critically low.

Due to the wounds, which were made with a dirty axe this would create an infection which he did not have the strength to fight without antibiotics.

These are only the physical injuries. I ask you readers, for a minute to stop and think to yourselves how you would feel as a month old, innocent creature with no knowledge of pain or suffering and in one foul blow your mother is murdered in front of you! You are hacked at with an axe when trying to help your mother? There is no scale of measurement for this kind of trauma and this is something which will not help Nyasha’s recovery.

At 10 pm that night, I handed Nyasha’s fate over to Judy. With a heavy heart, I left Nyasha. Before leaving I whispered my sincere sorrows for his pain and asked for his forgiveness for what my kind had done to both him and his mother. But there is no forgiveness! This could be the last time that I was to see this battered and broken soul. If he was to go I could only wish and pray that it be quick.

Nyasha died on 19 June 2008, at 4.15 am. Peace at last, reunited with his mother!

Many tears have been shed over this injustice. Many angry words spoken over this merciless killing – murder! Yet no amount of tears shed or words spoken will bring this baby back to this world where he was first born. There is no action that can be taken which will ease the pain with which that baby died. I ask myself if there is anything which can be done, so that these murders were not wasted? No - is the answer. For these rhinos who have been murdered in Zimbabwe, there will never been enough justice done to account for their loss. Animals continue to be murdered, struggled to death in snares, rotting carcasses! To die without dignity is a sin and it is our sin. And yes I am sad, and I am angry, my heart is heavy with no end in sight as no matter which way I turn there are no more answers.

In memory of Nyasha;

“Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the song of angry men

It is the music of a people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!

- Les Miserables

- Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer

The poachers remain in jail and bail has been denied. This is the first case of poaching where bail has been denied. We will keep you posted to the outcome of the poachers!

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Category: Serval | Date: Jun 11 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

Dear Readers,

It is a month since Arwen gave birth to Evenstar and Quickbeam. In a country where chaos reigns it is amazing to see this precious gift to the world in the form of two perfect little furry bundles. It never ceases to amaze me just how much there is to learn, each animal who enters my world has so much to teach me. Evenstar and Quickbeam are no different. Incidentally, these two new additions to our family are named after Tolkien characters from the Lord of the Rings trilogy – as is their mother. Evenstar was named first (the first to appear!) and then Quickbeam.

For a first time mother, Arwen has been brilliant. She is very relaxed showing no signs of aggression toward me when approaching her kittens. This is unusual, as normally with the serval, if the mother decides to raise her babies on her own she becomes very protective over her kittens and does not allow their human caretaker anywhere close to the kittens. She has cleaned and fed her kittens diligently since their birth. The first litter is always a difficult litter for both the human caretakers as well as the natural mother. Many first time litters are abandoned or do not survive due to the mothers inexperience. Even though Arwen is only two years old, which is still young for a serval, she has been an incredible mum. Because of this I have left the kittens with her in the hope that together the three of us can adjust to a different way of raising the kittens. The natural mother is always the best option, as there is no substitute for mother’s milk. However being in captivity it is also important that we as the caretakers can manage the animals so as to monitor things such as parasite control, de worming and weighing. If the kittens grow up not being happy in our company it makes life in captivity both difficult for us as well as them. Our aim here at the Trust is to always minimalize all forms of stress. We do not believe that ‘knocking down’ an animal every time you have to treat him or her is very good for the animal. So we aim for each animal to be content in this environment, to alleviate any stress. Even when an animal has been hand raised, there normally comes a time when this animals natural instincts kick in and they want to be returned to the wild. In my experience the average time when an animal develops this natural urge is shortly after mating – this is even more apparent with the males. Each night when it comes time to feed Arwen, we move her into a neighbouring enclosure, ( our enclosures are interlinked in such a way that we can rotate the animals with ease) she then starts to eat her daily dinner whilst I go into her enclosure to be with the kittens. I spend a minimum of 20 minutes with the kittens where I talk to them and start to introduce myself to them so that they are not scared of me and will adjusted to being handled and interacted with. The feeling is quite remarkable, when sitting in amongst the foliage with these two furry bundles and they wobble unsteadily up to me, unafraid and typically cat-curious! It has been phenomenal how accepting Arwen is of the whole situation. Whilst eating her evening meal she is relaxed and her youth betrays her in playful exploration of the new smells and the odd floating rubber duck in the pond. This is all a totally new concept to me as under normal circumstances the mother serval would not be so trusting. When she is re-united with her babies, Arwen spends a lot of time smelling my smell near them, and they then get a thorough bathing! I hope that we can continue on this vein and that Evenstar and Quickbeam will come to see me as the second mother, or at the very least a devoted member of the family.

The Tikki Hywood Trust would like to thank all our Blog readers, as well as Wildlife Direct, who have been so understanding and supportive of our current situation here in Zimbabwe. Each day brings with it a new, and interesting challenges. When the economic climate faces total decline, you realise just how cheap life becomes. The carnage continues in both the human and wildlife world here in Zimbabwe. The strength of the Zimbabwe person has been amazing.

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Jun 05 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

Due to the current situation here in Zimbabwe, wildlife continues to be under threat. Each and everyday brings with it another tale of unrest and lawlessness. On 15 May 08, Kimba Melu an orphan female elephant had to be moved from the Mavuradohna release site (one of the release sites for the Tikki Hywood Trust animals) because her life was threatened. Right now I am sure you are wondering what the Tikki Hywood Trust’s involvement is in one of the world’s largest mammals? In 2006 the Tikki Hywood Trust was alerted to Kimba’s story, and this is how it started….

On 25 December 2006, Kimba together with another orphaned male elephant were confiscated from a family who had been acting as the elephants’ foster parents since the babies were orphaned in the drought. Without any notice or warning the elephants were collected and taken away to a holding pen in the north of Zimbabwe. When we got to the Nymanechi Game Park, we were confronted with some very distressing news. The day after the two elephants had arrived; they had broken out of their pen and escaped into the bush. Both of these babies were still on bottles, so were very dependant on substitute milk. After four days the scouts found the carcass of the smallest male elephant that obviously had been attacked by a pack of rural dogs. Kimba remained in the bush for another week before the scouts managed, with a net to catch her and bring her back to a wire pen which from the stories had been used to house a wild leopard. On arriving my heart broke in two. There was this tiny baby, pacing up and down the line of the fence and then when she had stopped moving back and forth on her front to hind leg. Her physical condition was horrendous; her spine was at least 4 inches protruding from her back. The look in her eyes was one of fear and pleading not to once again be left on her own. Immediately I called National Parks and informed them of the situation, my initial concern was that this young elephant would not survive due to the incorrect milk formula and the fact that what she should be drinking was not available. National Parks agreed that this situation was not good and that until we could organise a permit for her we were able to take care of her. The next vital step was to get permission from the main Headquarters of National Parks to move this desperate little animal into a more stable situation where she could be properly cared for.
Lucky for us and Kimba, Geoff Hoddy was in Zimbabwe as part of SAVE Australia committee, it was thanks to his sincere love of Zimbabwe and her wildlife that when we told Geoff about Kimba, he pledged to help her no matter what it took. With the knowledge of the support from Geoff, we arrived at Parks to see how we could improve Kimba’s future. To my astonishment, Kimba had now become a victim of a price war! This orphan baby was now about money and how much as an adult she could fetch as part of an elephant back safari. Outraged, I argued that this was a conservation issue and not about money. Thankfully, those at Parks could see just how important it was to save Kimba and do what was right by her. At this point I had to ask myself why so much of this world is just about money and only money. To take the innocence of a wild orphan animal and then exploit it - surely this is a sin?
Thanks to National Parks, it was decided that Kimba would be given the chance of being returned to the wild and would never be part of any safari out fit. Being an elephant, this adventure of going back into the wild would be very lengthy. Kimba went to the north of Harare to learn to be an elephant and start her life once again with a new family - James and Janine Varden. Then with all that was happening in the Mavuradohna Mountains our concerns came back. Kimba’s chances of being returned safely back into the wild - started to diminish due to the increase in poaching and mining in the area, even though this area is part of a National Park. After further discussion with Parks, it was agreed that we would move her once again down to Chiredzi, where there were two adult elephants who had been orphaned in the 1992 - 93 drought of Zimbabwe. Theresa Warth has been doing amazing work with orphan elephants, and by moving Kimba to Theresa she would be able to interact with adult elephants. Being social mammals it is very important for elephants to bond with one another. Then fairly unexpected on the 14 May 08, ‘youths’ arrived at the farm where Kimba had been growing up on. The ‘youth’s demanded that they needed meat and that Kimba would do. After much pledging and negotiations’ the youth agreed that if a sable and bush pig were shot they would spare Kimba. Urgently Kimba was put into a horse box with a convoy of SPCA, James & Janine Varden and a National Parks scout and driven into Harare, where she over nighted in a horse sable, before the long trek to the Lowveld the following day. At five o’clock on the morning of 16th May 08 the convoy continued on to what hopefully will be the last move via vehicles for Kimba. At this point in time we can not promise that this will be Kimba’s last move. But what we can continue to do is make sure that these animals that are now in the care of man, is that man continues to make sure that they are returned to the wild safely. Together hopefully we can preserve enough of Zimbabwe’s wild heritage so that these elephants have a natural home where they can roam.

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