Zimbabwe Seven

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.

4 responses so far

Category: Serval | Date: Apr 23 2008 | By: admin

The Tikki Hywood Trust is delighted to report that Frodo is now in the final stage of being released. On the 12 April 2008, Frodo was sedated, for what we hope will be the last time in his life and fitted with a radio collar. Once he was crated, Frodo travelled to the Matendere Ranch which is situated in the SAVÉ Valley in the Southeast Lowveld of Zimbabwe.

For all of us this was a very happy day. As Frodo has not only been incredibly patient and brave but has survived an ordeal second to none on his road to recovery. Over the years I have come to realise that sometimes an animal enters your life, and you are the one who has to learn a tremendous lesson. Frodo, I believe has been one such lesson for me. Since his accident we have seen an awe-inspiring will to over come all the difficult obstacles which he was presented with. Frodo’s recovery is not only about him overcoming a broken limb, but how Frodo taught us to be better at the undertaking of returning animals back to the wild.

The mentality of a wild animal is one which still has so much misunderstanding I believe. Only to often we as humans, are arrogant enough to assume that we know what is best for an animal. The question is: “do we”? With 14 years of working with wild animals, I can quite honestly say that for me, each animal is different and with that comes a unique character. So to generalize is not possible, but with a guideline of how difficult it is to survive in the wild as a wild animal we have to make sure we have given each animal destined for release the best possible opportunity. With Frodo, even though his injuries are against his release into the wild, the fact that he came from the wild is an enormous bonus. This young serval had survived, if not well he had made it to at least 6 months of age on his own.

For any wild animal to come from an environment of no rules and unlimited space, then to a crate and complete and utter capture – must in itself be nothing short of complete mental anguish. Yet Frodo, who entered our lives from the wild and remained in a crate for 23 days, began to feed from our hands with the use of tweezers, drink milk (which contained his daily antibiotics and sedatives) from a bowl. He allowed us to spray wound spray on his bare and exposed hind leg wounds. During this all I asked myself, “what innocence allows an animal to trust us to such an extent? What must be going through Frodo’s mind whilst we went through the daily routine of dressing his wounds, feeding him and moving him from one crate to another so that we could clean?” I have no answers, only admiration for this animal.

In conclusion to Frodo and his final release, we at the Trust have gained a tremendous amount of experience. As with any animal the emotive side, is huge and affects each and every one of us differently. It has to be said that there have been many a moment when I wondered whether we were doing the right thing by Frodo. Operation after operation, close confinement, trauma and then again more trauma! My heart has on so many occasions gone out to Frodo. Were we really doing what was right for Frodo or rather what we felt was right for us? This is a hard and strong question but one which we at the Trust have to ask on so many occasions. After much deliberation it was decided that with Frodo we would stop at nothing except to do everything in our capabilities to return him to the wild as a healthy animal. For me Frodo has been a great patient and teacher. There is a remarkable difference between a captive born animal and a wild animal brought into captivity. There is an extreme potential for stress to be caused and one thing our experience with Frodo’s has confirmed, is that no wild animal should ever be taken out of its natural environment for any reason what so ever!!! The stress is far too much; at this point we do not know what the long term physiological results will be to Frodo. However by collaring him we will be able to monitor his progress back into the wild. It is vital to collect the data on Frodo once he has been released to see how he can fend for himself as well as to see how he is able to interact with other serval and the other wild animals in the area where we have released him. Has Frodo been a success? From a surgical point of view – yes, from being released it is too soon for us to know. What I do know is that right now Frodo is more content than he has been for the past six months. He is in a wild enclosure, with the sounds of the wild surrounding him both day and night, natural prey such as guinea fowl and doves for supper and more importantly, space. For now my heart rests a littler easier for Frodo than it has done in the last six months.

With any project, great efforts are made by many people. What each person brings to a wild animals, return to the wild is immense. Frodo’s return has been made possible due to the support of so many of you. The Tikki Hywood Trust would like to sincerely thank you all and the following people and organisations, without whom Frodo would not have made it this far.

Note the photo below showing Frodo’s leg all healed.

This is Frodo’s leg after the final operation.

Frodo’s return to the wild has been a joint venture with the AWARE Trust. The Tikki Hywood Trust would like to thank Dr Keith Dutlow and Dr Lisa Marabini of the AWARE Trust for their hard work and persistence towards the long road to recovery of Frodo over the past six months. Dr Keith Dutlow and Dr Lisa Marabini of the AWARE Trust performed surgery on Frodo, and covered his surgical expenses. The AWARE Trust also paid for the majority of the medical treatment of Frodo, and constructed a convalescing enclosure for him.

Beit Trust
Brilley Nicholson
Chris Foggin
Croplink
Department of National Parks & Wildlife Management
Geoff and Kim Hoody
Irvines Chickens
Judy and Leon du Plessis
Mim Bauman
Paule and Kim Wolf
Save Australia

Note to Readers,

Thank you all for reading about Frodo. For those who might be further interested, we can email  you a spreadsheet detailing major events and operations.

8 responses so far

Category: Serval | Date: Mar 25 2008 | By: admin

Rafiki’s story:

Sire: Geronimo
Dam: Muffet (4th Litter)
Sex: Male
Origin: Born at THT
Date of Birth: 12th October 2005
Littermate: none.
Other Siblings: Nala

Rafiki is from Muffet’s fourth litter with Geronimo. Like Nala who is also from Muffet and Geronimo, his coat was a dark golden colour with very black spots. As he has matured, we have discovered that his markings qualify him as a half king serval, meaning that he has more strips than spots.

Rafiki, was a healthy kitten that reached adulthood without any medical problems. He was raised by his mother and despite this became quite tame (usually the opposite is true when they are raised by their mothers). Due to lack of a genetically independent female, there was no one for Rafiki to breed with so he was always destined for an early release.

If we can recap for you from Muffet’s story….

On the 14 June 2006, Muffet was darted and collared and Rafiki was also immobilized but not collared, so that they would go together. Both cats travelled well and when we arrived at Stone Hills it was dark, fairly cold and raining. The cats remained in their crates and inside the car for the night, as I was concerned about their body temperature dropping too low, after being drugged (one of the side affects of using drugs is that the animal is not able to regulate his or her temperature). In the morning we took both cats to their new enclosure. This is where they would remain to be introduced to the new sights and sounds of the area until the rains come in November. Being confident as Muffet is, she came out of her crate quickly and started to investigate her new surroundings. Rafiki was still under the influence of the drugs and remained in his crate until later that day. Muffet however was delighted with her new surroundings, started eating and moving around the enclosure instantly. Muffet continued to show her self-assured nature whilst in the enclosure whereas Rafiki remained quiet yet curious. At the time that they were moved, he was only eight months old – an awkward teenager not sure of himself, but not totally dependent on his mother.

Muffet was released on 10 December 2006, whilst Rafiki remained behind. The reason we did this was because Muffet was in oestrus and we did not want Rafiki covering her. We also thought that with Rafiki still in the enclosure it might make Muffet remain in the area, and this is exactly what happened. During her first sojourn in the wild, Muffet would occasionally come back to check on her son.

Rafiki continued to take in the environment with wide-eyed interest. He was comfortable in the release enclosure and the occasional pile of feathers showed that he at least was practising hunting. He stayed in the release enclosure from 14th June 2006 to 17th December 2007, another eighteen months. As of the month of release, Dec 2007, Rafiki has matured into a stunning 2 year old serval.

On the day of the release, Muffet having done this once before strode out oozing confidence, almost knowing every stone and bush in the immediate area. Rafiki on the other hand must have watched his mother walk away a second time with confusion and trepidation. After a couple of days with the gate wide open and Rafiki still not venturing out, he was encouraged to take his food outside the gate. This seems to have given him the little bit of courage he needed to start exploring the surroundings.

Rafiki was released in December, which is generally in the height of the rainy season in Zimbabwe. As a result, his first introduction to the wild was a wet one. When he was tracked and food offered to him, he always ate it ravenously which indicated that he may not have been hunting successfully. He then moved to a neighbouring area and there was concern that there would be interaction between him and local people and their livestock. There were also occasions where he looked hounded or frightened, and we presumed that he was possibly being intimidated by the larger male who had been seen with Muffet.

Khanye’s report on Rafiki: (Scout at Stonehills Release Site)
10th January –
Rafiki could not be located, nor for the next four days. On the 15th January at
07:20 hrs his signal was picked from Dibe Hill coming from north Matanje area. Mr. Aylward, Mabena and myself went towards there. We finally saw him coming to us but he was outside the boundary fence. He was terribly thin, hungry and powerless. He had a swollen and limping left back leg. He looked desperate for food. Two dormicum tablets were wrapped in two separate pieces of meat, which he took in much hurry and he waited hoping as always
that I had come with more. The tablets were supposed to work within 30 minutes but nothing happened for almost an hour. He had come in through the fence at a place I had spilled
some blood. He dug where the blood had sunk. The piece of meat that we had put in the cage to trap him did not work, as he quickly took the meat and got out. We decided that time was being wasted and covered him with a big green tarp. He did not put much effort in trying to escape and we put him into his cage. When we got home, an hour and a half had passed since he had taken the tabs. But he was still wide-awake. We gave him two more pieces of meat and left him alone in his enclosure. I came back to check on him two hours later to find him (looking dead) asleep two meters from where we had left him. The tablets had only just started working. I came back two hours later with his 400 g of food and he was nowhere near
where I had left him. I tried to call but he did not come, so I left the food by his usual table. The next morning I found he had eaten it. At 4 pm he met me by the boma entrance asking for food – we gave him 400 g again. The next day he met me by the entrance at 4 pm waiting for food as he did on all the following days.

Note - we released Muffet on 14th December, and Rafiki left the cage (was induced out with food) on the evening of 17th December.

On the 15th January 2008, Rafiki’s signal was picked up near the neighbouring village scheme. This was cause for concern, as his presence would not be welcomed. On investigation he was found – miserable, hungry and worst of all, limping! His left back leg appeared to have a bite mark, it was swollen just above the hock joint.

There was no questioning that Rafiki had to be recaptured and brought in for treatment. Sedative tablets were crushed in two pieces of meat and given to him – which he wolfed down. Obviously now with an injured leg hunting was not even an option. However, he was not going to make it too easy, the sedative was working but he was still wary. Eventually, in his wobbly state he was unceremoniously wrapped in a piece of canvas and brought back to the release enclosure.

What is Rafiki’s outcome now that he has been recaptured and returned to the release enclosure? Well we have two choices. The first being to try and re-release him in the same area, or to bring him back to the breeding centre where he will breed and later when we feel he is more mature and confident try and release him at another release site. We have chosen the second choice, as Rafiki needs to build up his confidence before being release again. What this experience has shown me is that, each animal perhaps is not that eager to return to the wild as I might have first thought. Like with children, each wild animal which we are involved with, portrays different characteristics. It is our responsibility to assess these traits and then act accordingly to each animal as an individual. It is hoped that Rafiki will return to the breeding centre shortly after the elections (March 2007).

2 responses so far

Category: Serval | Date: Mar 13 2008 | By: admin

When a captive bred animal returns to the wild it is no mean feat. There is a considerable amount of preparation which is required for both the animal being released and the community surrounding the area in which the release is to take place. With any release the management team on the ground is vital for the release to be successful.

At Stone Hills the management team which consists of Bookey & Richard Peek, Mabhena (Scout), Khanye (Community liaison officer & Scout) have all been incredibly instrumental in making the release of these animals a success. The communities which surround Stone Hills have been visited by the management team and the value of these animals and their importance has been explained to them. Some of the children of these farmers in the surrounding communities are students of the local primary school, Marula, which is where the Tikki Hywood Trust has developed and implemented the “Kusanganisa” educational program. The importance of this community liaison is evident in the results achieved by Khanye when visiting the surrounding communities – on one such visit he persuaded the people to remove snares set around their maize fields.

On the 29th of Jan 2007 Muffet was sighted near the enclosure. When Bookey went out to investigate the reasons for her return she realised that Muffet wanted to re-enter the enclosure and she was very hungry. In 2006/2007 the southern part of Zimbabwe experienced a drought. The effects of any drought impact heavily on carnivores and is essentially due to the lack of prey; e.g. rodents, birds etc. On discussion with THT & Stone Hills, it was agreed that due to the severity of the drought, it would be better to leave Muffet inside the enclosure and await the next rains. Perhaps many of you who are reading this excerpt, are wondering why we allowed Muffet to go back in the enclosure. The reason quite simply is that the THT belief on releasing any animal is to keep that animal’s welfare intact and themselves in peak condition for as long as possible, so that animal may go on and procreate to give rise to a wild generation of offspring. They ultimately form the breeding nuclei who restock the area in which they are released and in addition, provide us with a closer insight as to their habits and behaviours in the wild. These animals which are bred in captivity are a lifetime commitment, and I feel that this is something that is often overlooked or not given the importance it deserves.

To continue the story - Muffet remained in the enclosure with Rafiki during the dry months. At the first release, both Muffet and Rafiki were given the opportunity to exit the enclosure, but Rafiki simply did not go! We put this down to immaturity or insecurity or both, and thus we made the decision to keep him in the enclosure until he gained confidence in himself. With the release of any animal, it is up to the individual animal to decide as to whether they wish to exit the release enclosure or not. Technically this is referred to as a “soft” release as the animal is given the option to stay or to go. Why do we do this? – it is vital that the animal being released feels comfortable and confident in the new surroundings, so the first thing they do when exiting the enclosure is not to bolt. They form a new breeding nucleus so therefore it is important that they remain in the area where they are released so that they can also be monitored.

During the period that Muffet was back in the enclosure with Rafiki, we had the opportunity to address some problems that we had with her tracking collar. Being a petite serval, the current collar was slightly loose fitting and would swivel around her neck. The result was irritating to her, to the extent that she actually chewed on the antenna and eventually bit the end off!

With good rains, the avifauna and the rodent populations had re-established themselves to acceptable levels for the re-release of Muffet & Rafiki. The date decided on was 17th Dec 2007. Prior to this date, Muffet was chomping at the bit and ready to go. Her condition had been restored to its former glory and she was fit and ready for release. Rafiki on the other hand, never having experienced the wild, did know what to expect. The night before the release, both cats received larger portions of food than normal in preparation for the potential of not eating for a couple of days post release. The gate was opened early evening, just after feed time. Muffet strolled out with all the assurety and confidence she had shown the first time. Tail twitching, ears forward, she strode into the environment which was now familiar to her. Rafiki on the other hand sat and watched as his mother walked further and further away from him.

As Muffet left him behind to contemplate his situation we were concerned that Rafiki would again show a lack of confidence and stay in the enclosure.

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5 responses so far

Category: Serval | Date: Feb 13 2008 | By: admin

Muffet : Received in April 2000 and released in June 2006 at Stone Hills Sanctuary, Marula.
Tigger: Received in April 2000, littermate to Muffet, released in August 2004 on Cawston Ranch.
Tom Cat: Received as an adult male problematic animal from ostrich farm. Received in 2000 and was soft released on Triandra in 2000.
Bakita: born in March 2000, she was received as an orphan along with her littermate, William. She was released on Triandra in 2001 and later mated with Tom Cat in the wild.

William: born in March 2000 and received as an orphan along with littermate Bakita. These two kittens were raised at the same time as Muffet and Tigger at the Trust.

Cleo: Rescued adult female, came to Trust amidst land issues in mid 2002 via Mukuvisi Woodlands Wildlife park, Harare. For a wild born cat she settled into captivity and had a gentle and loving nature. She produced 5 litters with William, but unfortunately died in September 2006 before she could be released.

Zoey: Received in early 2002 as a year old serval as a donation from another facility, she remained a nervous cat. Unexpectedly she died in May 2002, after having spend a short few months with the Trust. Cause of death is not conclusive.

Tilly: Raised at another wildlife orphanage facility, Tilly came to the Trust as a mature serval. Ideally, she was going to form part of a breeding nucleus at Chedgelow Farm together with Esmeralda and Duke. Esmeralda released herself prematurely, leaving Duke and Tilly in the enclosure together. Duke mated with Tilly, but she subsequently lost all three kittens. It was then decided to bring Tilly back to the Trust and let her breed again to see if she could have another litter successfully. Back at the Trust she bred with Geronimo to produce a litter of 3. One of the babies was extremely small and died shortly after birth. The second survived for ten days and then died, cause unknown. Tilly ate both dead kittens (which is expected) but the third survived and is a happy, healthy female – Arwen. When Arwen was old enough to be weaned Tilly was then relocated to the Mavuradohna release site with Geronimo. They mated once again there but tragically the kittens did not survive. Tilly was released in May 2007 from the enclosure collared and was unfortunately killed in June 2007.

Tilly & Arwen

Gandalf : Obtained from Private Farm in Goromonzi, a chicken farm, in April 2007. The farmer thought a snake killing his chickens, went to dig out ’snake burrow’ and found two male serval kittens approximately one month old. The farmer was going to destroy them but was persuaded to allow them to come to Tikki Hywood Trust. Birth date was then estimated to be sometime in March 2007. They were raised at the Trust until Gandalf was separated from his sibling as he was very aggressive and it was hoped that by separating them they might calm down. Both young serval were then subsequently relocated to Bushman Rock Estates release site for their eventual release.

Bilbo: Sibling to Gandalf, born in March 2007. Bilbo was raised at the Trust until moved to Bushman Rock Estates release site with his brother. It is hoped that Bilbo will mate with Shenzi at the release site before his release.

Bilbo & Gandalf orphans

OFFSPRING BORN THROUGH TRUST BREEDING

Matings of Cleo & William:

1st Litter : Born on 20th August 2002, one female kitten was born and she only lived for 5 days. A post-mortem was performed and it seems the baby died of lack of food.

2nd Litter: Born on 25th January 2003, a male and female. These kittens were hand raised by Lisa as Cleo did not seem to accept them. This is often the case with inexperienced mothers in the wild.
Geronimo: Mated with other females in the program before being collared and taken to a soft release boma in the Mavuradohna wilderness area in November 2006. Was released in early 2007.
Esmeralda: Was never bred to any of the other males in the program as she had an aggressive nature and this is brought into consideration for captive breeding. She was taken to Chedgelow Farm for release but managed to release herself early from the enclosure. She has been sighted on the farm since.

3rd Litter: Born on 7th June 2003 , a female kitten.
Makaviti: Makaviti was Cleo’s second litter and she performed the labour and raising by herself with no difficulties or any of the stress seen with her first litter. Makaviti was always destined to be released as soon as possible. She was released on Cawston Ranch in the Nyamandlovu region in Sep 2004.

4th Litter: Born on 17th December 2003, a single male kitten.
Rumpole : Also raised by his mother Cleo, grew up without any complications and was placed in the release program at Cawston Ranch in September 2004 along with his older sibling Makaviti.

5th Litter: Born on 29th August 2004, 4 kittens, all males!
Oscar: Was a weak kitten at birth and was rejected by his mother Cleo. Lisa continued to hand raise him (whilst Cleo continued to raise the other 3 males herself). Oscar unfortunately died at one month old and post mortem revealed that he had kidney malfunction and water on the brain.
Ed , Scar , Zazu: Cleo raised these three kittens until they were 3 months old and then abandoned them. Lisa then raised them until they were old enough to go into an enclosure by themselves and they were released together on Triandra in May 2005.

Matings of Muffet & William:

1st Litter: Born on 12th august 2003, two kittens, male and female.
Duke: As is the case with a lot of first litters, Muffet had no interest in the kittens and they were subsequently hand-raised by Lisa. Duke was relocated to Chedgelow Farm for release once he was mature and subsequently mated with Tilly who was in the same enclosure. After mating, Duke released himself out of the enclosure on 6th February 2006.
Duchess: This serval was unfortunately born with a condition known as myopathy (inverted eyelashes). From the ages of three weeks until two months old, all the eyelashes that grew had to be plucked out manually by Lisa with tweezers otherwise infection would set in and her eyes would run continuously. Duchess endured the daily distress of plucking out her eyelashes with an amazing amount of tolerance, although it was painful for her and she cried she never fought with or retaliated against Lisa’s ministrations. She was later operated on to solve the problem and it was a success. It was decided to allow her to mate at the Trust to see if her condition was genetically transferable to her offspring. For this reason she was introduced to Sarabi. Unfortunately, something went very wrong and the outcome was that Duchess had broken the radius and ulna of her right front leg.

2nd Litter: Born on 20th November 2003, male and female.
Mungo: He was a very inquisitive, playful, healthy kitten who looked just like his mother. His destiny was always to be released and this was achieved in Sept 2004 at Cawston Ranch.
Jerry: She was very much more distant than her litter mate Mungo and never really seemed to feel the need to interact with humans. She was successfully released in Sep 2004 at Cawston Ranch.

Matings of Tilly & Duke:

1st Litter : Born on 1st November 2004 3 kittens, sex all unkown and none survived the first day.

Matings of Tilly & Geronimo:

1st Litter: Born on 1st June 2006, 3 kittens, 2 unkown sex, 1 female. Only the last female survived.
Arwen: She was the healthiest of the three kittens and was successfully raised by her mother Tilly. Arwen remains with us at the Trust in the hopes of becoming a breeding female but she will be destined for release after producing her first litter.

2nd Litter: Born on 4th February 2007 2 kittens, both only survived till 7th February 2007 and then died. They were eaten by Tilly.

Matings of Muffet & Geronimo:

1st Litter: 1 female kitten born on 30th August 2004.

Nala: She had a very dark undercoat, rather than being golden with black spots she tended toward dark brown with very black spots and stripes. She was a big, shy cat and spent most of her time up trees. Her mother, Muffet, who was very dominant over her, raised her and they had to be separated at eight months as they were fighting all the time. She was then moved to a release enclosure at Stone Hills Sanctuary where she mated with Sarabi and produced three kittens which she abandoned. (They were then hand raised). She was collared and released from the enclosure in June 2006.

2nd Litter: Born on 12th October 2005, one male and one female.

Rafiki: . Like Nala who is also from Muffet and Geronimo, his coat was a dark golden colour with very black spots. Rafiki, was a healthy kitten who never had any problems. He was raised by his mother but became quite tame. Due to lack of a genetically independent female there was no one for Rafiki to breed with so he was always destined to go for an early release.
He and Muffet were released at Stone Hills in June 2006.

Rafiki

Isabella: Isabella was Rafiki’s littermate, she was rejected by her mother and then hand raised by Lisa until she died at five weeks old. The cause of death is uncertain.

Matings of Sarabi and Nala:

1st litter: Born on 15th April 2006. 3 kittens, two males and one female.

Pumba: After giving birth and allowing the kittens to take a little colostrum, Nala abandoned the kittens, as is quite common with first litters. The kittens were then taken away for hand rearing. Unfortunately they were started on a different milk formula than the one developed by the Trust and they were exposed to bacteria which caused them to become very ill. When the gut infection was diagnosed all three kittens were immediately put onto antibiotics, but sadly it was too late for Pumba and he died on 1st May 2006.

Mufasa: Fortunately was stronger than his male sibling and survived the bacterial infection. He has grown into a beautiful cat with a very calm and gentle nature and we hope that he will take on the role of primary breeding male at the Trust. It is hoped that he will produce his first litter with Arwen.

Mufasa

Shenzi: She has grown into a beautiful cat, with a more forceful personality than her brother. She is very intelligent and has been known to be quite stubborn, but since she was disciplined once, has been much more responsive. She is very well collar trained and will walk with any of her carers. Due to a lack of suitable breeding partners currently at the Trust, Shenzi was relocated to a release site Bushman Rock. It is hoped that she will breed with one of the orphan males, Bilbo and produce a litter before she is collared and released.

Shenzi

7 responses so far

Category: Serval | Date: Jan 18 2008 | By: admin

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.

One response so far