In June 2010 we donated a Mahindra Scorpio 4x4 vehicle to FreeMe KZN Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, a South African based rescue and rehabilitation Sanctuary to assist them in their rescues and transportation of injured and orphaned animals. They had been getting by using 1 vehicle which is the personal vehicle of Roz Marais, the centre manager so the situation was far from ideal.

FreeMe collect animals and birds from areas as far afield as Ixopo, Greytown and the Drakensberg and the enclosed back of the Scorpio will be much more conducive to the quiet, stress free transportation of their patients. The ability to control temperature during transport will also assist hugely with the success of their rescues, plus it also means that during the journey one person can monitor the condition of the animal, which was not easy previously.

The vehicle was put to good use from day 1 including to ferry a number of volunteers to Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve to assist them with the herding of a female giraffe which had come up from the valley and was in a precarious position on a narrow road between an electric fence and a cliff. There was a very real danger that the animal would take fright and fall over the cliff (this has happened before), but fortunately they were able to ensure its safe return to the valley, as well as for several other rescues.

FreeMe have provided us with a copy of their July 2010 newsletter, which you can read below, so we an see what has been happening since they received the new van.

Vet removing a cast from a baby Nyala who had a broken leg, watched by a curious baby duiker.

July has been a busy month with the arrival of two baby Reedbuck from the Curry’s Post area of the Midlands. They came in separately after the one was found next to the road where his mother had been killed by a motor vehicle. The second, slightly older baby (about two weeks old) was standing next to a doe which had been shot and butchered in a poaching incident, an unfortunately all too common event these days. Both caused us a lot of grief for the first three or four days until they settled into the bottle routine and are now gaining weight nicely. It always helps to have more than one at a time as they give each other comfort and companionship.

It is also a bitter sweet period as our baby Nyala (pictured above having a cast removed from a broken leg) and the little duiker who has been his constant companion since they arrived within a few days of each other, are being released. It is always hard to see them go and, as they have been with us for over nine months, we have developed a real bond with them. They have both been very labour intensive, because of the nature of their injuries and the subsequent complications which have originated from them. The little duiker was found trapped in barbed wire fencing with multiple puncture wounds which formed nasty abscesses. This little chap has written the book on ways for a baby buck to nearly die. It is heart warming to see the comfort the duo have given each other during periods of ill health and stress. They will be going to a very special release site together where they will be cared for and monitored until the Nyala is integrated into the herd that is already on the property and the duiker finds his feet (hooves) in his new home.

We now have three porcupines in residence and these prickly characters have stolen every bodies’ hearts. Two were fire victims and the third had been hit on the head with a sharp object. All three are well on the way to recovery and will be released when the weather warms up a bit and their food sources become more prolific.

A half grown Caracal, which came in as a motor vehicle accident victim with severe concussion and a cracked pelvis, was also successfully rehabilitated and released back into the forest where he came from. Last seen, he was happily munching on some dead chickens which had been supplied to make his reintroduction into the wild easier.

Not so lucky was a little water mongoose, whose raid on a chicken run resulted in a dog attack and a broken spine. We had to euthanise him, but at least his suffering was as short as possible.

A young serval, who came into us extremely malnourished and dehydrated, is now well on the way to recovery and rapidly becoming the cheekiest little brat we have ever had to deal with. Getting his daily ration of dead chicks into his cage has become a near-death experience for his caregivers.

To all of you who have supported us during the last month, a heartfelt thank you.
FreeMe now has a vehicle sponsored by the Murry Foundation from UK, and have been given a large number of blocks to build our small predator cages, which are the next vital step in our growth plan to become one of the best wildlife rehab centres in the country.

To everyone who has donated money, time and goods, you need to know that we cannot survive without your ongoing help. The small, extremely generous community of Howick are inspirational in what they manage to contribute towards our efforts to help the wildlife from the area.

Saying of the month;
“When we return wild animals to nature, we merely return them to what is already theirs. For man cannot give wild animals freedom, they can only take it away. Jacques Cousteau.

Till next time from all of us at FreeMe, let us all care for our wildlife – it is one of our most precious assets.

Baby Common Reedbuck (now on endangered list) whose mother was killed in a poaching incident