Always call your local wildlife rescue centre if you have found a wild animal that is in need.
If you’re not sure if the animal needs help or not, the first thing to do is look for signs of injury and visually evaluate the animal from a safe distance. Ask yourself the following questions:
Is there any blood visible?
Is the animal showing any signs of weakness?
Does the animal have laboured breathing?
Is the animal seizing?
Is the animal conscious? (Is the animal conscious but immobile? The animal could simply be resting)
Has the animal been caught or trapped?
Can the animal move? If the animal is not able to move away from human contact it may be very injured or weak. If it moves away slowly, watch out for signs of injury or broken bones.
Most people call wildlife rehabilitation centres about baby animals that they think have been abandoned. A baby animal that is alone is often not abandoned or orphaned (although this is sometimes the case).
This is why it is important to first monitor the animal and look for signs of distress or injury. If the parents do not return or you see signs of distress or injury then intervention may be necessary.
A baby animal that is alone is often not abandoned or orphaned.
Although you are trying to help, intervening with a baby animal without first being sure the parents are not around is more damaging as its best chance of survival is with its family.
If you are interested in working within wildlife rehabilitation, this section will help you learn some of the basics.
First of all, it is important to understand that the aim of wildlife rehabilitation is to return wild animals to the wild. Some people may find this difficult or emotional but if you remember this from the very beginning you won’t get attached to the animals you care for in the way you do with a pet, instead you will be so happy and excited when it comes to release day as you know the animal is going back where it should be and, thanks to you and your team, has another chance at life in the wild.
Top tips when working in wildlife rehabilitation:
Stay calm. This work can be challenging as well as physically and emotionally demanding.
Remember that each animal has unique needs that are determined by the species, situation, personality and energy levels.
Be prepared for long hours and be flexible as there tends to be little routine and you are often “on call” 24/7 (this can be to deal with emergencies, help the intensive care cases or go out on rescues)
Education is an important part of wildlife rehabilitation. Be prepared to engage with the public and help people understand how to help animals in need and the significance of keeping wild animals in the wild.
Baby zebra “helping” to weigh and prepare milk powder for the day ahead
“I want to work within wildlife rehabilitation, what do I need to know?”
Working with wildlife in this way requires:
Medical knowledge (understand the anatomy and physiology of the species you work with, know how to carry out health checks and develop or follow treatment plans)
Understand environmental needs (ensure the environment meets the needs of the animal and always monitor the environment for potential issues)
Understand the nutrition and diet requirements for the species you work with
Understand safe handling and care practices
Understand health and safety (it is extremely important to maintain a clean environment to avoid the spread of disease. Make sure you keep up to date with protocols and ensure you can clearly communicate health and safety issues to the community).
This week is Storms rescue-versary. You may remember a couple of months ago I shared that I had the pleasure of seeing rehabilitated critically endangered black rhino Storm back in the wild. Today I thought I’d share the story of rescuing Storm. It was a crazy night that I certainly wont forget.
Everyone at the orphanage was settled for the night of elephant and rhino care and after many dry months, we had a powerful storm gracing us with heavy rain. As the evening went on as usual, we received a call about a black rhino calf in need of rescue. Soon after receiving the call, Angie and I packed the car and rhino ambulance with the emergency kits and set off. The rain was torrential and as a result, we could hardly see the front of the car, let alone the road ahead. The dirt roads were already beginning to wash away due to the rains so we knew it was going to be a long drive through the dark, stormy night. Even when we finally reached the tarred road, the drive was still slow as the continued rain meant the visibility remained terrible. It took us 4 hours of driving to reach the destination and after meeting with the wildlife vet we loaded the 3 month old black rhino calf into the rescue trailer.
I sat in the back of the rhino ambulance and watched over the tiny black rhino calf as Ang drove us back to the orphanage. The rain had begun to slow and at around 3am – after 6 hours of driving , we reached a flooded bridge that meant we couldn’t continue on. It had already been a very long night so we decided we would just wait at the side of the dirt road until sunrise but fortunately we didn’t have to wait that long as we received assistance from the reserve. So after some time of waiting for the almost unrecognisable bridge to be crossable we managed to continue on… It was a huge relief to finally make it back to the orphanage at 4:30 in the morning with the tiny black rhino. After parking up and making sure Storm was fine, Ang and I got a couple hours of sleep before getting back to work in the morning, caring for Ellie and the rest of the rhino orphans.
Storms rehabilitation was tough, he was struggling with internal parasites & aspiration pneumonia and needed intensive, around the clock care but when he finally turned a corner and his appetite grew, he began to gain weight and started playing we knew he’d pull through. Storm became good friends with Nandi, another black rhino orphan of the same age and the pair moved through their rehabilitation process together.
Despite the tough start to life, Storms rehabilitation was a success and he now lives wild & free.
It can be scary to start something new. To put yourself out there and try something you have never tried before. It can be daunting to create and share your passions with the world. It’s easy to back out, to change your mind and to live small but DON’T. Please, don’t back out. Believe in your vision, in your passion, in your work.
More and more, I am finding my voice – as you have probably noticed with these regular blog posts. This is something I want to continue and I am now collaborating with Morgan Pettersson to create a conservation podcast called Seeding Change. Within this podcast we will be talking about environmental conservation, the natural world and the highs and lows of our own personal adventures within this challenging but highly rewarding industry.
Although I’m nervous, I’m also so excited because this is a topic I am very passionate about and it’s something I wish we all talked about more.
Our first two episodes are available on the links below and our third episode will be available on Friday.
On Friday’s episode we will be talking all about TREES and their importance in this world. With Morgan’s reforestation experience this is going to be a very interesting conversation! Forests and their amazing role on Earth are often vastly undervalued so we are looking forward to sharing episode 3 with you all. Particularly, with all the news regarding this years forest fires.
Over the years of living in South African game reserves, I have had a lot of snake encounters with various species including Mozambique Spitting Cobras, Black Mambas, Puff Adders, Rhombic Egg Eaters, Spotted Bush Snakes and African Rock Python.
I wanted to share a different side to my adventures today so here’s 3 of my favourite snake encounter stories:
1) Mozambique Spitting Cobra.
This story always comes to mind because the situation resolved itself with surprising ease. I was outside with rhino orphan Ithuba and fellow carers Aly and Axel when we noticed something moving along the wall towards us and towards the rhino night room. As the sun was beginning to set we needed to keep a close eye on the snake to make sure it did not go into any of the care or preparation rooms. We sent a photo of the snake to a ranger and received immediate identification that the snake was a Mozambique Spitting Cobra (very dangerous).
As we weren’t in a position to remove the snake safely ourselves and we lived in isolation in the middle of a reserve getting someone to help us would’ve been a time-consuming process, we decided instead to simply block the snakes path, keep our distance and hope the Cobra would turn around and go back into the bush. It was a simple plan but our options were pretty limited and we were hopeful. We kept our distance while trying to keep a constant eye on the snake. The other thing we needed to do was keep ever-curious white rhino calf Ithuba away from the snake too. This was challenging as Ithuba knew there was something going on and wanted to take a closer look himself. Fortunately, after a bit of a tussle we managed to convince him to play with his favourite tyre bowl at the other side of the enclosure while we waited for the cobra to decide where it wanted to go.
Thankfully, upon meeting our blockade, the snake changed direction and began to pick its way back towards the bush. It was in no rush but gradually we watched it slither across the length of the outside enclosure, out between the slats of the enclosure poles and towards the bush. Satisfied the Mozambique Spitting Cobra was not in or near the night room we finished the evenings games with Ithuba, got sorted for nightshift and locked up. Of course, I was still VERY aware of the possibilities of snakes, spiders and scorpions as I slept on the floor in the preparation room or under the heat lamp with the rhino orphans.
(I don’t have a picture of the Mozambique Spitting Cobra so here’s a Rhombic Egg Eater instead)
2) Puff Adder relocation.
This was a pretty fun one. It was a really quiet day and while I was sitting in the office I heard one of our staff members screaming my name (bordering on hysterical). Not sure what the problem was I rushed outside to check everything was okay. I was met with two of our team screeching with terror and pointing towards the grass next to the car. Laying there, completely still, was a Puff Adder (very dangerous). There’s a lot of fear of snakes within the communities so I wasn’t at all surprised by the shouting, snakes are often killed on sight so I was very relieved they had kept their distance and shouted me instead of trying to kill the snake.
As Puff Adders are very dangerous and we had several people and animals living on the property I said we would carefully move it away from the orphanage. I closed our dog inside, grabbed the snake tongs and enlisted the help of Vikki (because there was no way I was doing this on my own and Viks had worked previously as a ranger). The main issue was that we couldn’t find a suitable container to use to put the snake in so we agreed on using the large, plastic bin that we used in the kitchen as the ‘transport crate’. Getting the Puff Adder into the bin was easy using the snake tongs and after we showed our team (who were now a lot less hysterical) the Puff Adder and gave them a bit of information about the species we carefully put the bin onto the back of the truck ready to drive far from the orphanage to release the snake.
Now, we had a decision to make. Although, it was more of a ‘rock, paper, scissors’ situation that Viks lost. That meant it was Viks job to sit at the back of the truck holding the bin upright and ensuring the lid of the bin stayed in place as I slowly drove us across the reserve. Despite driving slowly, the road was incredibly bumpy so I watched the rear view mirror tentatively as I picked my way across the reserve. We reached a spot that was far enough away without any issues and chose an area that seemed suitable to release the snake. The car slowly rolled to a stop and I jumped out to help Viks with the bin. We removed the lid and gently laid the bin down, letting the the Puff Adder go. We sat on the back of the truck as we watched the snake for a few minutes then we made our way back to the orphanage. Happy everyone was safe and the snake could continue on, unharmed.
3) African Rock Python sighting.
The third is a wildlife sighting that blew my mind. Angie and I were on a road trip and we made our way to Kruger National Park, after some careful thought we decided to stick to the more northern areas of the park. We’d been told we wouldn’t see as much wildlife in those areas but we liked the fact that there’s very few other people around and the idea that we’d have to work extra hard to spot wildlife. We stuck to our original idea and entered Kruger through one of the gates in the North region and see how we got on.
I’m not kidding, we’d been in the park for 10 minutes and OUR FIRST SIGHTING was an African Rock Python eating a duiker. WHAT. It was insane, we couldn’t believe it!!! We sat there absolutely fascinated, no other cars around, in fact we only saw one or two other cars in the whole day. This was the first time I’d seen a snake in the bush like this, the Rock Python was huge! The whole scenario was just unreal. As you can imagine, that started our day in a magnificent way and we went on to have all sorts of wonderful sightings including elephants, leopards and even a honey badger!
Spending time in wildlife reserves is so good for the soul.
It allows us the opportunity to reconnect with nature, to catch a glimpse into a
wild world we have become so far removed from. It’s an opportunity to quiet
your mind. When you’re in nature nothing is guaranteed and nothing is expected.
It’s energizing, from the moment you enter a reserve there’s excitement in the
air… You keep a look out for any signs of wildlife, looking for fresh tracks along
the dusty paths and listening for the calls of wild animals.
There is so much to see. So many directions to venture in.
You are surrounded by the beauty of the wilderness and I’m not sure there is
anything in life that beats that feeling. Nature is home and sometimes we have
to go back to it to realise how vital it is.
I’ve spent a lot of time living in reserves and sometimes it’s nice to take a step back and enjoy the amazing wildlife that share this place we call home. Today I wanted to post some of my favourite photos from past adventures. There’s so much beauty on this planet, there is so much still to save. I know that sometimes news stories are very doom and gloom so todays post is just a little bit of beauty to remind you that there is still so much to fight for.
Spending time in nature is important, a lot of us are disconnected, not only from nature but also from the impact we have on nature in our day to day lives. Everything we do has an impact on the world around us and the natural world needs us to make changes. We need to step up and make better decisions, we need to be more conscious of our choices and know that we can have a positive impact on the planet by making small changes. We live in a time when we can still turn this around so please, tread lightly on this Earth and appreciate the natural beauty that surrounds us.
If you get the opportunity to visit a nature reserve or national park… Please do! You won’t regret it.
Experiencing life through conservation is beautiful and inspiring but it is also challenging. In the past 6 years I have made the most amazing memories, met the most passionate people and lived surrounded by so much wild, natural beauty. Sometimes it seems so strange to think that I’ve spent nights sleeping side by side with baby rhinos or months with a baby elephant essentially glued to my side. To live with wildlife, build bonds with them and experience the beauty of the wilderness is such a privilege … I’ve truly found myself in nature and it’s been such a magnificent journey but it has not been without its challenges. It is all too easy to paint working in conservation in a romantic way, the reality is that it’s tough. It’s hard work, it can be lonely, it’s even dangerous at times… There’s so many aspects to working in conservation. It’s not all smiles and selfies. It’s stress, heartbreak and for way too many conservationists… its burn out. I love sharing the highlights with you but the reality is that there are hard times too.
Working within conservation means being exposed to mans
astonishing disconnect to nature, it means seeing first-hand the impact of the
greed and selfish capabilities of our own species. It’s working around the
clock and living far from family and friends. At times it can be difficult to feel
optimistic or positive, it can feel like the heavy weight of all of this is
pressing down on your shoulders as you ask yourself if you are doing enough to
make a difference.
The struggle is real so if you are feeling this pressure right now I want you to know that you are enough, you are appreciated and you are not alone. Step back and look at how far you’ve come, all you have achieved and the positive impact you are having. Know that you have a positive influence that reaches further than you will ever truly realise. Be proud of every step you have taken on this journey, be proud of your bravery, of your fearless pursuit of your passion. Look at the amazing things you’ve experienced, the connections you have made and the memories you’ll always remember. Take time to look after yourself… Eat well, read books about things you love, be active and be kind to yourself. Know that caring for yourself is not selfish, it is essential. For you to continue to have a positive impact in this world you need to take care of yourself. You need to make yourself a priority.
Sometimes working in conservation is challenging but don’t let the hard times allow you to forget the great times. This journey is filled with ups and downs. It’s a whirlwind, a rollercoaster. It’s something that can be so difficult to explain to people who haven’t lived it too. Celebrate the wins and know that you are doing amazing things. I believe in you, in your passion, in your vision. I’m proud of you and you should be proud of yourself too.
How’s the future looking for African Lions? Did you know the king of the jungle, the mighty lion, is being wiped out by humans…
African Lion are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist
and their population is decreasing. The decline in lion populations has been
huge, 100 years ago there were approximately 200,000 individuals and today
there’s estimated to be less than 23,000 lions left.
Lions face many threats including:
Habitat loss
Prey depletion
Human-wildlife conflict
Illegal trade in body parts for traditional
medicines
Trophy hunting
Cases of lion poaching have been reported in Mozambique,
South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Uganda.
There is no history of lion bone use in traditional medicine
in Asia but there is increasing cases of lion bone being used in place of tiger
bone as a result of the decline in tigers (around 3,900 individuals remain).
CITES lists African Lion as Appendix II and allow “export
for trade in bones, bone pieces, bone products, claws, skeletons, skulls and
teeth for commercial purposes, derived from captive breeding operations in
South Africa” with annual export quotas established and communicated annually.
In South Africa, there is something called ‘Canned Lion
Hunting’ where the captive lions are shot in a fenced area by ‘hunters’. These
lions have often been hand-raised by unsuspecting tourists who have paid for
the experience of cuddling, taking selfies with and even helping to raise the
cubs, thinking they are helping the wildlife in some kind of rehabilitation
type of scenario when in fact it is another way for the canned lion industry to
make money. Once the lions are older they are hunted within an enclosure. In
2017, an annual quota of 800 lion skeletons from captive-bred lions was approved
and in 2018 the figure was nearly doubled to 1,500.
Lion have lost 85% of their historical range. They play a
vital role in the ecosystem as they are top predators that dominate their
environment and help keep a balance in the number of prey animals. They also
help with disease control by taking the weakest members of the herd. Lions have
no natural predators.
How Can You Help Lions?
Raise awareness of the plight of lions
Do not buy wildlife products. The killing would
not happen if the demand was not there.
Do not participate in lion petting
Support conservation efforts and anti poaching
units
I recently did a talk about my conservation journey and raising rhino orphans. After the talk a lady in the audience asked, “Have you ever been in danger…” I immediately thought ‘yes’ but as she continued her question, my answer changed “… as rhinos are so big and powerful, does working closely with them put you in danger?”
I said…
“That’s a great question. Rhinos are very strong and definitely have the ability to cause us harm if they feel it is necessary, for example to defend themselves, but I never felt like I was in danger while working with them. They are generally very gentle and tend to know our limits, especially when you’ve spent time with them and built that bond.
Although I have been nudged and stood on and knocked into the air a few times and ended up with some scrapes and bruises it was never the intention of the rhino to hurt me. To be honest, most of the ‘run-ins’ I had with the rhino orphans have been hunger-related… You know, in the wild they’d nudge their even bigger, even stronger mums when they are hungry but when they nudge us mere humans to tell us they are hungry it’s quite a bit more than a little nudge. That’s the only thing I can think of but it was never really danger.
However, there is another side to your question because when you asked if I had been in danger the first thing that came to my mind was poachers. So, yes, I have been in danger while at the orphanages but not because of the rhinos, because of poachers. The most afraid and at risk I feel I have been has been a result of the potential of poachers coming to attack the orphans for their small horns. There have been times we’ve been told we need to be on high alert because of intel that poachers are targeting us so for me when I think of being in danger it’s the humans that worry me, not the rhinos.”
Yesterday saw the export of over 30 wild-caught baby elephants from Zimbabwe, believed to be destined for Chinese zoos. This comes after 37 elephants were held within Hwange National Park capture unit for almost an entire year, it is said that 32 elephants were transported with 5 of them being rejected due to poor health.
The elephant were loaded into crates and transported in extreme temperatures – indicating a lack of concern for their welfare.
Zimbabwe National SPCA has been campaigning against this since the elephants were initially captured, inspecting the elephants when they were initially placed into the capture unit in late 2018 and reporting the animals were severely stressed. On October 15th three ZNSPCA inspectors and an experienced wildlife vet were denied entry into the holding area and 6 further attempts to gain entry were denied despite this being an obstruction of the Zimbabwe Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. *
Zimbabwean activists have desperately tried to prevent the move of the baby elephants. Earlier in the year, Advocates4Earth (previously known as The People and Earth Solidarity Law Network) launched legal action regarding the capture and export of wild-caught infant elephants. They recently demanding the government release the details of the export deal and also contacted lawyers representing Zimbabwe National Parks Authority warning that exporting the elephants before the case has gone before a judge could be in contempt of court.
The move of the elephants and their future severely lacks
transparency and accountability. A full independent investigation should be
launched into this cruel trade. Evidence shows that since 2012, over 100 infant
elephants have been exported and these elephants have been resold in China to
unknown destinations and are now performing in circuses and zoos.
These baby elephants have been condemned to a life in captivity, a life of suffering. How is this still happening? It is devastating. Elephants are social animals, in the wild elephant infants are completely dependent on their mothers for around 5 years and build incredibly strong family bonds.
* The act specifically grants an appointed ZNSPCA inspector right of entry upon any premises where he has reasonable grounds to believe that such entry is necessary for the prevention, investigation or detection of any offence in terms of this act.
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