Zimbabwe Seven

Today has to be one of the saddest days of my conservation journey. I was informed that Muffet had been shot – killed! Muffet is dead! Those words just keep going around and around in my head. How, why, for what – questions and then more questions. At the end of the day – questions are irrelevant as Muffet is dead and nothing that is said or done will bring her back.

Muffet arrived in a Bata shoe box 11 years ago. This tiny, blind, deaf and very noisy little bundle of fur. I was a very green adoptive mother and Muffet was the first carnivore that I ever raised. Even though Muffet had a brother Tigger, it was to be Muffet who would be more of a teacher to me over the many years of life together which we were to explore. Life with Muffet was to be an adventure as well as a nightmare on the odd occasions. At first I did not even know how to feed her and Tigger, there seemed to be more milk on them than in them. Muffet was an incredibly small serval which made everything so much more terrifying for me. Every conceivable illness which a young orphan could get – Muffet got. I can remember one night it was obvious that Muffet was ill, she was vomiting, had diarrhoea and a very sore stomach. Even after being on antibiotics, nothing seemingly worked. At my wits end I drove in from the farm which is an hour’s drive from town to see Dr Chris Foggin. My opening comment was there something so wrong and I can not fix her!! Chris very calmly gave Muffet an anti spasmodic and stated that I perhaps needed a valium and an early night!

Muffet survived kitten hood. Being very set in her ways and with a very definite idea as to who she was and what she wanted. Muffet was tame towards me but very otherwise with anyone else. She seemed destined for being a wild animal. Being so small I always felt very maternal towards her and worried that should she be released then perhaps she would not make the grade due to her size – I had forgotten to take into consideration the size of Muffet’s heart.

Once Muffet had reached adulthood, she was introduced to William to see if she would be if she could conceive, give birth and raise her young. It was like a duck being introduced to water. Muffet had William exactly where she wanted him and ruled the roost! When she was nearly ready to give birth, we removed William and started getting Muffet ready for the next big step in her life. Duke and Duchess were born on 12 August 2003, Muffet was fantastic and I got to see my first serval birth. These two perfectly formed kittens arrived in the basket. No sooner had Duchess arrived, that Muffet start making a lot of calling noises. She kept running from the basket to the gate, no at all interested in being with the kittens. I would pick her up and put her into the basket and try and get the kittens to latch onto a nipple so that they could drink. But Muffet was not having any of that – no way! After nine hours of trying everything that I could think of to make Muffet accept the kittens, I decided it would be better that I remove them and start hand raising them myself. During the experience Muffet never once showed any aggression towards me, even when I finally removed the kittens and carried them away.

For reasons, which even today I do not fully understand, Muffet touched my life. She became a friend as well as a teacher through out our 11 year journey. Through the farm invasions, I realised just how important we as human handlers with wildlife grow to be one with the animals we care for. That when their routine is changed, it affects them; they sense the struggles and battles which we are experiencing on their behalf. Shortly after the farm invasion, I had to make the decision to either retire Muffet to a life in captivity or plan to release her before she became too old. Release was decided. If you knew Muffet you knew that she wanted to experience the pleasures of being a wild animal. Stalking, hunting and then the final kill, Muffet wanted all of those gifts. With a very heavy heart Muffet went to Marula on 13th June 2006, to get use to her new environment. She settled very well and it was soon evident that she wanted to go free. Six months later, in December 2006, the enclosure door was opened and Muffet walked into the wild with confidence, as well as a little bit of arrogance. Not once did Muffet look back from that moment. After Muffet had been released, it was at least six months and I decided to go and visit her in her new found freedom, so that I had peace of mind that releasing her was the right thing to do. Of course, the day I arrive at Stonehills, Muffet’s signal could not be located. The next day we still could not find Muffet. With each passing day, my anxiety levels increased together with concerns of what might have happened. Then on the fourth day, Mabena (scout tasked with tracking Muffet) radioed through that he had found her signal. Action stations!!! Richard, Bookey and I jumped into the vehicle with meat just in case we found her in bad condition and headed off in the direction of where Mabena had located the signal.

With my heart pounding and my hands sweating, I had a million and one thoughts going through my head. “Would Muffet remember me, would she be aggressive towards me?” I could barely contain myself with excitement, nervousness as well as fear of not knowing how either Muffet or I would react. We reached the area where the signal had been detected by Mabena. We all got out of the vehicle and started walking in the direction of where the beep beeps were coming from. After five or so minutes I started calling Muffet’s name, the excitement was just too much for me and the scientific way of telemetry was not good enough for me at this moment. As soon as I started calling, I heard a meow in return. Muffet had recognised my call!!! It could have been a scene from some romantic movie, one side a woman running and calling and the other side a serval running, meowing and jumping! Once we reached each other, Muffet allowed me to stroke her and play with her, there was absolutely no aggression, hissing or biting. We just talked and walked and for that moment the world stopped and there was nothing that was more important, than Muffet and I bonding once again after a long separation. I fed Muffet some of the meat we had brought, she accepted it but not because she was hungry (as she was in very good condition) but because I had been her mother and accepting the meat is a form of submission in the animal world. Muffet then took me on a walk, marking the trees and allowing me to stroke her as we went. After what seemed like hours, Muffet lay down and I lay next to her, just talking and being with her was like nothing I could explain or put into words. Here was this adult serval who I had nurtured from a kitten; we had survived the land invasions together, moving from one facility to another as well as the release. Now here Muffet was in the place she belonged the wild and at the same time allowing me to interact with her. Just when I felt we were getting really comfortable, Muffet stood up, as I stood up to follow her she hissed at me, making me stop in my tracks. This was the end of the road! Muffet had reunited with me and allowed me to see her world for only as long as it would take for me to be satisfied that she was ok and belonged in the world that she now existed in. Muffet slowly walked away, every so often looking back and hissing at me. As we drove back away from the area where we had just left Muffet, I was sad and over whelmed at the same time. Sad because out here in this world I could not protect Muffet and feared that Muffet did not understand or know half of the dangers which could and would face her, sad because she had been my baby and now was all grown up and able to take care of herself. She had returned to the wild successfully after being born and raised in captivity – this is huge, this is over whelming.

So now I sit here writing about a beautiful cat that had entered my life and had affected me in many more ways than I would ever know. She mapped out the way for so many other orphaned serval in captivity and serval who are to be released. I had let her down; I was not there to protect her from the fate which was to be her ultimate death. How do we protect wildlife in a country like Zimbabwe? Is there a future for these wild creatures, who stories are made from and who roam our land with no malice? In my hearts of hearts I fear that Zimbabwe can not protect her wildlife unless massive changes are made, and the land tenure and law and order are restored. I have reached a turning point once again in my conservation journey thanks to Muffet. My heart is very heavy.

The Trust will do everything we can with the help of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Authority to prosecute the culprit. However no matter what we do, Muffet is gone. Her light has been snuffed out by man, and with her death, a light has been blown out in my life.

In Loving Memory Of Muffet 1998 – 2009
Buddhist saying:
Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.