Zimbabwe Seven

Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 14 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

Dear Readers,

Every so often a bright light flashes at the end of this very long and dark tunnel. We have received some encouraging news that we want to share with everyone.  You may recall the harrowing tale of little Nyasha, the white rhino calf that was orphaned in the most brutual circumstances and then was mortally wounded. On the eve of  18 June 2008 , National Parks put up road blocks as soon as the scouts were alerted to the poaching.  Four people were arrested on the poaching of Nyasha as well as his mother.  In the days that followed, with the evidence which was uncovered, these four suspects were not only found to be the poachers of Nyasha and his mother, but of another 15 rhino, poached within Zimbabwe.

The four perpetrators have been sentenced to 28 years in prison!  National Parks have worked extremely hard towards developing a case against these poachers and now to be rewarded with this prison sentence is paramount to their efforts.  The Tikki Hywood Trust extend a huge thanks to the Department, on this successful operation

Nothing will bring those rhino’s back and in my way of thinking there is not a sufficient sentence which could justify their deaths.  However, having said that this sentencing is a start!

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Category: Uncategorized | Date: Aug 09 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

“Will you ever begin to understand the meaning of the soil beneath your very feet? From a grain of sand to a great mountain, all is sacred. Yesterday and tomorrow exist eternally upon this continent. We natives are the guardians of this sacred place.  Peter Blue Cloud Mohawk”

I recently read this quote from Peter Blue Cloud Mohawk. Tears welled up in my eyes when I re-read the quote.

How many times do we walk upon this earth? Each step we take, should be scared – yet we are so totally unaware of that. Each breath we breathe should be pure, yet it is us (humans) who continue to pollute it. In Zimbabwe it is winter and the sky is crisp blue just waiting to be touched, the grasses beneath are straw yellow, full of seeds waiting for the rains when they can germinate. With the lack of concern those seeds will soon burn in the fires which rage through out this country at this time of year. Each seed that is burnt reduces the graze which is required for the animals who survive from the land. With each action that we take there is a reaction. If we, this generation do not pay for the crimes we continue to make, then the next generation will.

Are we being the natives of this earth – this scared earth, are we truly nurturing it for the next generation? With each blink of my eye, I find myself taking silent Kodak pictures which will be stored in my memory. My horror is that those Kodak moments will be mine and mine alone as what the future brings – may exclude so many of those wondrous moments, herds of elephants drinking at a water hole. Pride of lions playing as a family, flocks of birds flying high above my head at dusk with the pinks, oranges alighting the sky.

If we are the natives or guardians of this scared place, are we doing what has to be done?

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Category: Past Newsletters | Date: Aug 05 2008 | By: zimbabwe7

Four months have passed, and our country still remains in total turmoil, with ever increasing poaching in all areas of Zimbabwe. If we were at a crossroads before, we either missed the turning or over shot it altogether. There is not one aspect of any, one industry which has been left unscathed by the past eight years. Today we sit waiting once again. For each and everyday that we wait, we lose wildlife. How as man, can we just sit by knowing that this horror is filling our environment? There truly are no words which I can find, that can explain what both the people and the wildlife of Zimbabwe have had to endure over these last eight years. To see a wild animal trapped in a snare, struggling for both breath and freedom, is something I will never forget. The fear which runs through those eyes, the helplessness which goes through their bodies before the final breath has been taken. No animal should ever have to go through this.

Two elections have passed and there is not a lot of light at the end of this tunnel. However, I have just returned from a trip to South Africa and for the first time in many, many months, I saw a very bright light. The response to the situation here in Zimbabwe has been incredible and totally overwhelming. Individuals and companies alike have gone out of their way to help the Trust with requirements such as drips and medicine which is needed with any rescued animal. On top of that we have also been donated greatly needed equipment which will not only help us with our day to day requirements, but help fulfil research requirements with the different species that we are involved with. A huge sincere, thankyou goes to the following companies and individuals who have donated equipment and supplies to us here in Zimbabwe:

Cipla – Dr Craig Mincher & Michelle Louw
Country Animal Clinic - Karin Wilson
Drakemed Supplies – Albert Nortje
Gunther Kerschbaumer – Gunther Kerschbaumer
Hermanus Vet Hospital - Michelle Lawrance & Lindsay
Kyron Laboratories – Candice Lamb
Pegasus Homeopathics - Ian Wheeler
South African Flower & Gem Essences – Jannet Unite-Penny
The above could and would not have been achieved without Louise Ehret’s tenacious determination and belief in our project. Louise is not only one of my personal friends, but someone who more often than not thinks about all those around her first and foremost. There are not enough words to express our thanks.

TIKKI HYWOOD TRUST ANIMAL EVENTS:

AFRICAN WILD CAT

Siam has now been with us for one whole year! This has been an amazing story and at a time when there is not much that is positive, Siam is. From being an under weight male red Africa wild cat whom I am sure did not really even know that he was a cat, he now is with a female (Asia) and surrounded by other wild cats. He has learnt to assert himself and is behaving like a real tom cat.

In April, Siam was introduced to Asia. At first it was only for 15 minute intervals under our very watchful eyes just in case a fight broke out between them. Whilst in the enclosure, Siam would be on a lead so that we had a little more control over the situation. Slowly over the next week we put the two cats together. Then, when there were no rude words exchanged between the two, we left Siam in with Asia for a full day. In the evening the two were separated. By mid May, Siam and Asia had developed a bond and were staying together in the same enclosure. We kept Siam and Asia surrounded by other wild cats in the hopes of creating more competition for Siam. As of yet we have not seem any mating, but fingers are crossed and we hope before the end of the year we should see little red paws!

The African wild cats have kept us on our toes! Ellen had a very interesting evening in early April. Hooch, the grand Duchess reigns over all the animals including, it has to be said, us as mere humans. However, her one pet hate is Francis our young female civet. Hooch has developed an intense dislike for the civet, whether it is because of the attention that Francis gets at night from us, or that she simply sees the largest member of the Viveridae family as a threat. As per our normal evening routine when the civets are rotated, Ellen went down to put Assisi back into his enclosure. Assisi, as always, the gently and shy, male civet, went back to his enclosure in usual vocal manner. Francis was delighted to be out in a new enclosure and started playing chase with Ellen. Hooch, who was in the adjacent enclosure to Francis, watched the goings on with a very beady eye. Before Ellen could even blink, she saw an ensuing flash of bristling wild cat fur and operatic yowling Hooch. Who had somehow managed to get into the same enclosure as the unsuspecting Francis and for a brief time of about 30 seconds Hooch gave chase like a lioness!! Francis had no idea what whirling dervish had beset her, and ran as fast as her little dainty civet legs could carry her. After completing two circuits around the enclosure, civet in front, wild cat behind and both trailed by an equally vocal Homo sapiens - Francis made for the nearest bush, curled up under it and started crying! The only solution was to pick the civet up and dash for the nearest empty enclosure, as picking Hooch up at that stage was not an option. Once civet was secure and re-assured that she was in fact still in one piece, Hooch was very unceremoniously confined to a basket. I think it was only at that point that Ellen started to breathe. Talk about an all round adrenalin rush!

We are happy to report that both animals are unscathed after this incident. Admittedly, Hooch was quite smug after it all and Francis relatively confused, but none the worse for the whole experience.
On the 30th June, Atlantic was found dead at Bushman Rock Estates. Please see our last news up date re the background to his death. With some consolation and relief we can report that since Atlantic’s death we have seen evidence of Paris with another cat, smaller than herself. We suspect that this is her kitten from Atlantic. Each night we feed Paris is in her old enclosure, where sand traps have been placed to monitor spoor, to see proof of how many African wild cats are entering into the enclosure to feed. In this undertaking of breeding and releasing wild animals, death is the one certainty we must always prepare ourselves for. In order to ease an aching heart for those lost we can only strive to ensure that every animal has the best quality of life that we can possibly offer. There is no doubt in our hearts and minds that Atlantic had that, he was an emperor in his kingdom at Bushman Rock with Paris at his side. Through their pairing, we now know that his genetics have been passed on and the circle of life is complete.

SERVAL

April was a very eventful month for the serval as well. Mufasa and Arwen were observed mating in late February and then again early March. The whole experience thankfully was calm and Mufasa behaved in a true gentleman manner, with no aggression towards either Arwen or us.
On the 10th May Arwen gave birth to two very healthy kittens, which were named Evenstar and Quickbeam. Being her first litter we were rather concern that she may abandon them. Thankfully she did not, and up to current day has been the most unbelievable first time mum. Arwen remained very confident throughout the first month of the kittens’ life. We never heard any distress calls from the kittens and the new three-member family continues to flourish.

The first week of their arrival, the two kittens were checked on three times a day and then at least twice during the night. During these checks, Arwen was invariably always with her babies and they remained hidden under her fur whilst she sat up protectively. All the time we watched for any distress, a calling baby or an anxious mother, but both babies and Mum have gone from strength to strength and are happy and healthy.

On the 26th May Arwen came into a full oestrus, which of course brought a few problems to Mufasa’s life. For safety reasons, Mufasa during this whole experience has not been allowed into the enclosure with Arwen, although he is able to see her in the neighbouring enclosure. He has been rotated into the adjacent nursery enclosure several times, for a change of scenery. Arwen continued to visit and call Mufasa for the peak duration of the oestrus which was around five days.

In order for the kittens to get used to us, we decided to feed Arwen in an adjacent enclosure, once Mufasa was rotated to the adjacent nursery pen. By doing this we could then go into the enclosure with the kittens and let them hear our voices as well as learn about our smell. By the 8th June, I was able to identify the sexes which were one male and one female. Evenstar the boy, was bigger in size and had a very out going nature. Throughout the first month, Arwen had been doing incredibly well, however with the constant feeding of the kittens we felt it best to start feeding her twice a day and also increase her quantity of food at the evening feed.

By the 16th June the kittens were more than interested in eating meat, licking at Arwen’s face and calling when meat was smelt. Obviously with the increase in activity between the kittens and Arwen it is very important that the kittens are getting enough food. On the 23rd June, we realised just how instinctive these young kittens are. A young rabbit who happened to (very stupidly) enter into the serval enclosure via the diamond mesh, was caught by Evenstar! Pandemonium ensued together with screaming from the baby rabbit. Evenstar, very proud of his accomplishment had the rabbit by the neck and was carrying it around with Quickbeam close on his heels.
At first, the thought was to let nature takes its place and the kittens learn what hunting was all about. However the problem arose when Hooch who, was wide-eyed, wanted in on the action and was trying to get through the enclosure wire. Arwen became very vocal and anxious on the other side of the wire. Between a screaming rabbit, a hissing and spitting Hooch and Arwen, Evenstar decided it was all a little too much for him and dropped the rabbit, who dashed for the nearest bush. Human intervention prevailed and Ellen grabbed the rabbit to calm the whole situation down. To make a judgement call in situations like these are not simple – to leave the live ‘prey’ would mean a life lesson for a young animal who would need those skills once returned to the wild. However, the potential for harm by another species (i.e. Grand Duchess Hooch!) was more risk than worth and so all parties in the foray were rewarded with chicks instead, once the rabbit was removed.

The story does not end here! The baby rabbit was brought into the house and fed copious quantities of glucose syrup for the first 48 hours after her ordeal. Peony, who she is now known as, has been a great survivor. She was rescued from the jaws of a serval kitten and has since become part of the family. Growing daily and spending evenings inside with us and days in the garden, Peony amongst the another 30 odd rabbits, live in paradise or pretty close to what our idea of bunny paradise is.

On a visit to Bushman Rock Estates we found that Bilbo & Gandalf had started to spray urine, the little boys are growing up! This is a very positive sign and indicates that they are maturing into adults. It is hoped that not before too long we will see a successful mating between Shenzi and one of the boys.

In July we received a report that some workers for a company based in one of the industrial areas of Harare had sighted a leopard with her cubs, whilst walking to work! Very unlikely that it is a leopard, however we can not ignore such a call. Thankfully Tim Paulet was close at hand and he very kindly offered his services. We arrive at the scene with all the necessary equipment; cages, dart gun and a whole lot of nervous anticipation…….., as a leopard mother is not very friendly at the best of times!!! On inspection, we found clear evidence of a serval residing in the area, and from the eye witnesses we determine that she has at least 3 kittens. From what we saw, she seems to have been in the area for a while and there seems to be enough rodent and bird life to sustain her and her little family. We distribute our contact numbers however to the folks who live and work in the area as it would be better for this little family if we relocate them to a safer area if they are to be seen again. Wildlife and people will always compete for land. Through education and knowledge people will learn that actually the presence of a serval can be advantageous as opposed to a threat.

Frodo, who we took to Matendere Ranch in the Lowveld on 12th April, is doing very well. The food which we are feeding him on a daily basis is not been finished and this indicates that he is now hunting for himself. There is a lot of evidence of a high rodent population which must be where he is getting the extra food from. We all feel that he is now ready to go out into the open. However, due to the current situation which is rife throughout the whole of Zimbabwe, now is not the best time. We are going to wait a little while and hope that the situation calms down, before we do the final release .

HEDGEHOGS

On a trip to Marula I was contacted by Mr Goosen (who on the Trust’s behalf collects injured or orphaned hedgehogs), to inform us of another hedgehog who had been found. Hunka Munka arrived on 26th April, a healthy male hedgehog. When we first receive hedgehogs, we find that they go through about a three week transitional phase. During this time they do not eat well and generally create a lot of concern. What we have found, what helps hugely is putting them onto a seven day course of antibiotics together with vitamin B complex injection.

This will be the first winter where the hedgehogs have been in a completely artificial environment where the temperature is regulated. It is very important that the hedgehog’s surrounding environment does not drop below 20 degrees C, so throughout the winter either the heater and or the infrared light has remained on to establish this temperature. We have also adopted a brazier system for when there is no electricity. This is essentially a metal bucket with holes, which we make a charcoal fire in and suspended it on a frame in the room. It works really well and heats up the room in no time. This is all part and parcel of learning to adapt in Zimbabwe! Apart from a few of the hedgehogs losing weight, we have not experienced any colds or bronchial problems. However, we are delighted that winter is coming to an end so that we can start exercising the hedgehogs and preparing them for the rainy months when they start mating.

AARDWOLF

Hasha, our very old aardwolf had an awful experience of getting stuck down her burrow. On Monday 14th April on the morning check and clean up, Hasha was no-where to be seen in her enclosure. After a panicked search around the enclosure, she was found in her “burrow” that she has dug under a hedge. However, something did not seem right. On closer inspection, we could see that she had somehow managed to entangle herself in the roots of the bush and was completely wedged in with no hope of getting out! After two hours of carefully digging and trimming select roots, one very dusty and irate aardwolf was released from her earthy prison, a little stiff from her ordeal! Her humans rescuers where also suitably impressed at the amount of noise that comes out of the little aardwolf too!

Towards the middle of July we noticed that Hasha had started to pace at night. Since she is an elderly aardwolf, there are concerns that this could be an age-related issue. She is physically in very good condition and we encourage her to explore more of the garden at night now, leaving the door to her enclosure open. She also has a rabbit or two who visit her! In order to try and alleviate some of this pacing we have put her on Selgian tablets, which is for the treatment of behavioural disorders of emotional origin including anxiety, depression, unsocial behaviour, hyperactivity and phobias. It is not uncommon for an elderly candid to have dementia type behaviour.

GENET
Munchkin’s babies, Este & Lauder are almost adult size now, being eight months old in July 2008. They are beautiful little genets, we have determined that they are female and male, so Este and Lauder respectively! It is wonderful to see that they have taken cue from their mother’s confidence and are not to shy when we enter the enclosure with them. In fact, they have a tendency to “taste” ever so gently an outstretched hand! Both offspring have respectively taken on traits of their parents, Este looks just like mother Munch and Lauder has his father Rags’ longer muzzle.

Coco and Dior, the other orphaned genets are doing very well. They still reside in the cottage, using the curtains as climbing trees and surveying the world from the top rails. Due to their disadvantaged start it is no wonder these genet are rather midget-sized. It is impossible to determine why, however the fact is that they are not good physical specimens and therefore are not ideal candidates for breeding. Also, because of their diminutive size, they would be at more of a disadvantage if they were released at a release site and most likely be killed. We therefore have decided that to maintain their quality of life and ensure a margin of safety, Dior will be sterilized so he can remain with his sister and they will be free-released from the cottage, since they are already very settled in the cottage and identified it as home and will always return. On the 15th July Dior decided to test this theory prematurely and went on an adventure. He got out through an open window and onto the cottage roof and had to be rescued a la fireman style with ladder! Sister Coco was less than impressed with her wayward brother, strutting rather anxiously at the window with tail and crest bristling. Dior discovered going up is much easier than coming down – hence the ladder rescue.

CIVET
Francis has learned a new skill – how to open gates! She has figured out how to bump the wire latch off the bolt and get the inter-leading gate open. This is a great achievement for any animal!

In a similar situation to what happened with Hooch earlier in the month, one evening whilst returning all civet to their respective enclosures for the night, little Miss Curiosity Francis sneaked into the Fig enclosure whilst we were trying to get Badger back into his enclosure. Then, the over confident little girl trotted off into Badger’s enclosure and a very unplanned introduction between two civet occurred. Badger, who is a 9 year old orphan civet, is perhaps the worst tempered animal we have ever had. Before arriving at the Trust, Badger had been separated from his mother, his eyes prised open and then on top of all of that he was somehow burnt and arrived with very singed fur. So we are all very wary of Badger’s moods and no one can really expect anything other than a bad tempered civet when dealing with Badger. So when Francis dashed into Badger’s enclosure, Ellen and I expected the very worst! Badger proved to be calm even though he was defensive and growled a little, whilst Francis seemed more intent on exploring every inch of his enclosure. After some frantic minutes of searching and keeping a wary spotlight on Badger, a snatch and grab manoeuvre was performed and Francis was bodily lifted and returned to her own enclosure.

Francis is settling down well, in the mornings when it comes to putting her to bed she is already sleeping under the bougainvillea or in a corner of her enclosure next to Badger’s (the male civet). She has developed a new tendency though – she pulls her duvet out of her house every night! Over the next coming months we will slowly start introducing Francis to Assisi, this will be in the hopes of mating taking place once Francis is old enough to conceive.

KUSANGANISA NEWS:

Kunsanganisa continues to be an inspiration in an otherwise repressive environment. We can only admire the determination and resolve of the teachers in our program and the fact that they are willing to stay with a project that they believe in and it gives them hope. They face fairly inconceivable impossibilities on a daily basis, but tackle the situation with a smile. Imagine teaching a class of children with no chalk to write on a board, no pen, no paper, having to share possibly 4 text books in a class of fifty children? Lesser people would certainly give up! Fortunately we can try to address this through Kusanganisa. However, with the economics plummeting even deeper in the abyss of financial breakdown, we have realised that our teachers genuinely need help. So with this in mind, our Kusanganisa project has introduced a ‘teacher incentive’, which included food hampers and blankets to help beat out the winter cold.

In as much as the teachers feel the pressure of our country’s collapse, so too do the children and their parents. There certainly is no extra money for uniforms or shoes anymore for these children. The Trust would like to sincerely thank, N Tselentis (Pvt) Ltd, for there very generous and needed donation of 123 girls uniforms. This number of uniforms has clothed the grade 6 & 7 girls and the choir at Nehanda. The smiles on both the children and teachers alike were truly a humbling experience.

In July, we decided that we needed to interact more with the school children and not only the teachers. The reason behind this was to get more of an understanding about what and how the children thought about Kusanganisa and the importance of what we were trying to achieve. It has to be said my first class with the two grade 7 classes brought nerve racking memories of being at school myself. Never having been a great scholar, I was terrified. However, there really was no reason to be, as even with a slight language issue, the interaction from the children and the questions which were being asked about environment were enlighting. Towards the end of the lesson, Lawrence (one of the pupils) put his hand up and asked “Is there a right way to cut a tree down and if so then what is the right way?” Tears welled up in my eyes, as this was, and is, the being of what I believe will be a change in a thought process of the next generation.

The Tikki Hywood Trust would like to thank each and everyone of you, who continue to support both Zimbabwe and our efforts to conserve her wildlife. Each member of society has a huge role to play. Without unity and hope, we will not be able to do endure yet another year of this uncertainty.

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