Born Free

Thanks for all the comments and donations following the previous Blogs.

Apologies for the lengthy delay since the last Blog. Ethiopia may be seven years behind the rest of the world (this year it is 2001) so maybe that explains why I always seem to be catching up and need a few more hours in each day.

As usual with this project, I have both good and not-so-good news to report. The good news is after a year of negotiations and meetings, the land for the new Wildlife Centre has officially been transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the Office of the President of Ethiopia and from the President’s Office to Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA). This really is quite a milestone and I am immensely grateful to His Excellency President Girma, his son, and the team at the President’s Office for all their support this past year. I am now finalising a Land Management Agreement with EWCA, but since they have already signed a Project Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding for the new Centre project, this is more of a formality.

The not-so-good news is that the Ministry of Defence have asked for a hefty compensation for the living trees on the site, so back I go to the negotiating table! It has taken more patience than I knew I possessed to get this far, I now need to find a little more!

Meanwhile, the land boundary demarcation stones have been prepared, so as soon as I can get the compensation figure reduced or waived, we can get started with the boundary demarcation and perimeter fencing. When we actually get started on the construction I think my whoop of joy and relief will be heard around the planet!

Enough of red tape. This Blog is to share the story of Menelik, the cheetah cub that I am now caring for.

The cub was found by a development worker in a dusty town on the edge of a north east desert of Ethiopia. The cub was tied by a string at the back of a shop.

The staff at the shop said it was a tiger, but most Ethiopian’s think Tiger is the English word for cheetah. The cub was very small, clearly malnourished and so covered in dust that the dust combined with the furry shoulder mantle that all cheetah cubs have made the cub look as though it did have stripes! The development worker begged the shop assistant to let her take the cub to a vet in Addis. The shop assistant refused and alternately patted and then kicked the cub. The development worker took a digital photo and tried to convince as many people as possible in the town that the animal needed medical care. A few people humoured her, but in a country where life is tough, the welfare of an animal did not have much of a priority. The development worker circulated her photos to friends and colleagues and one ended up being forwarded to me at Born Free Foundation Ethiopia.

After the Wildlife Authority had given permission for the animal to be confiscated, a veterinarian who generously donates her time to Born Free Foundation Ethiopia collected the cub and had to give it intensive care for a few days. The cub had been fed such a poor diet it could hardly use its back legs.

The couple who had so successfully cared for Sheba (Story in Blog 5) agreed to provide the cub with a home for a few weeks until I had built a temporary enclosure in the Born Free Addis office compound.

I collected the cub on 24 November and named him ‘Menelik’ after the famous Ethiopian Emperor and because I have never known a cat that licks so much. The cub seems to be particularly fond of licking my bald head. That rough tongue may be great for skin exfoliation, but is ruining my tan!

I have designed the enclosure so that it includes the back door into my office. The cub comes and goes from the garden into the office. He spends most days in the office lying on, or wrestling with, his blanket or watching birds outside the window.

Menelik has settled in well and I hope that when the cub is a bit older, we can introduce him to Sheba and the two male cheetah will share an enclosure at the new Wildlife Centre.

As I write this Blog, Menelik is purring loudly from his blanket. He’s a complete minx and has already managed to shred a rug. He seems to have a fascination with cutlery. In the morning I have my bowl of muesli sitting on the steps that lead down into the cub’s enclosure. Menelik invariably steals the spoon and rushes off to his hay-lined sleeping shed to play with the spoon; flicking it into the air and batting it like a tennis pro.

Please do help our project if you can.

The Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre will cost around UK£600,000 to build and equip, and it will cost UK£ 250,000 (US$ 500,000) per year to fund the Centre and its conservation and education programmes.

The enclosure for Menelik and Sheba, and for other animals at the Wildlife Centre will cost between £12,000 and £40,000 to build.

We must get Menelik and other wildlife in captivity in Ethiopia into spacious enclosures as soon as we can.

And if anyone wants to help pay for the care of Menelik, he costs £2 (US$4) per day to keep at the moment. However, he is growing fast and the costs to keep him will continue to grow – as an adult cheetah it will cost approximately £6 (US$12) per day, or £40 per week to provide care for him.

You can donate at Born Free’s website where the Centre is the subject of our New Year & 25th Anniversary Appeal see www.bornfree.org.uk/give/new-year-appeal/, stating that you would like the funds to go towards the Born Free Ethiopian Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre. 

For more information on Born Free, please visit www.bornfree.org.uk and should you want more information or think you may be able to help please leave a comment here on Wildlife Direct and we will come back to you as soon as possible.

More news in a few days,

James

Thanks for all the comments and donations following the previous Blogs.

The days have zipped by since my last Blog with more torrential rain and even a massive hail storm. Very disconcerting to drive slushy, icy streets in sub Saharan Africa! The photo below shows the slush, but within minutes the ice had melted.

The last week was spent at more meetings to try and get the 80 hectare (197 ½ acre) site of land officially transferred to Born Free Foundation so we can start building the Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre.

In case any reader thinks establishing a wildlife centre in a country like Ethiopia is an easy task, I thought I’d share the background to date….

The need for a wildlife centre was brought to the attention of Born Free Foundation in December 2006 following a meeting to discuss captive wild animals in Ethiopia. At that time there were various orphaned big cats being looked after in private gardens in Addis Abeba. Two cheetah in two gardens and two lion cubs in another… I still don’t know exactly how many baboons, owls and other wild animals are being kept in captivity in Addis, but I know of animals kept in several private homes or hotels in small cages. In addition to these ‘pet’ wild animals, there is a ‘Lion Zoo’ in Addis. (I won’t go into all the details here. If you are interested to learn more about the Lion Zoo, try looking it up on the web. Below there is one of the eight main enclosures. Each has walls, ceiling and floor made of cement and the public are encouraged to pose for photos sitting against the front wire mesh.

Many people have raised concerns about the conditions - you can see below, a mother and small child posing or a photo. The President’s Palace also keeps three lions.

Ethiopia’s lions are ‘black-maned’ lions. The photo below shows just how magnificent these animals are. The late Emperor Haile Selassie was known as the ‘Lion of Judah’ and Ethiopians have taken the lion to their hearts. Addis Abeba has sculptures and paintings of lions at every turn.

The Captive Wild Animal meeting was organised by Ethiopian Wildlife Association, Wildlife Conservation Department, US Agency for International Development, African Parks Foundation, Regional Office for East Africa at US Department of State in Ethiopia and the Italian Development Cooperation. The interest of sponsors and attendees was very encouraging in a country where animal welfare standards are generally low. (It is not unusual throughout the country to see over laden and incredibly lame donkeys being beaten or dogs being stoned). Speeches were made by Ministers of Tourism and Agriculture and Development, Ambassador to the United States to Ethiopia, head of the Wildlife Department, the adviser to the Deputy Prime Minister and guest speakers Dr Laurie Marker (the Namibia-based Cheetah Conservation Fund founder and CEO) and Vanessa Bouwer (the South African-based De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust Trustee and Deputy Director). The meeting participants discussed the issues and made several recommendations including establishing a wildlife centre to care for orphaned, confiscated and injured animals that can be released back into the wild wherever possible. The centre would also provide spacious, naturalistic enclosures for animals that cannot be released back into the wild.

Apologies for rather a long-winded explanation, but it shows that in a country where wild animals are kept chained or in small cages, there is the will to change things.

Two of the animals being kept in captivity were nicknamed the ‘Italian’ lion cubs because they were being cared for by a truly dedicated Italian couple. And in case any of you think a lion cub would make a cute pet, think again. Firstly, lions belong in the wild. Secondly, they may be cute when they are small, but they very soon get big, very strong and have very sharp teeth! Below shows me watching one cub just before the second cub sneaked up at me from behind and sank its teeth into my hip!

And here they are exploring the garden.

The problem was that the Italian lion cubs were getting big and needed a home, but where could they go? The Ethiopian Government refused to allow the cats to be taken out of the country, the Lion Zoo as the photos show does not offer good conditions , and no other facility existed to care for orphaned, injured or confiscated wildlife.

Born Free Foundation was asked to help find a solution, and the President of Ethiopia, His Excellency Girma Wolde Giorgis, pledged to help wherever he could. A short term solution was needed urgently, so an enclosure was enlarged and strengthened in the grounds of the Presidential Palace, and the lion cubs moved to their new temporary home. See below which shows the two Italian lions at around two years old and as playful as ever in their temporary home.

At the same time as the temporary enclosure was built, following the recommendations of the Captive Wildlife meeting, Born Free Foundation presented the Government of Ethiopia with a proposal to establish a Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre within 25 kilometres of Addis. Along with creating a facility for orphaned, confiscated and injured animals the Centre would provide a long term home for the Italian lions and aim to give some (if not all) of the Lion Zoo cats a spacious home.

The fact that even with the President’s help I have spent the last year working on various proposals and agreements with the authorities shows just how long it can take to get such projects up and running.!

However, we have made progress. Born Free Foundation is now registered as a non-profit organisation in Ethiopia with a bank account. The land has been surveyed and promised, but I am still chasing the formal land agreement.

I am lucky enough to have a Pass to the Presidential Palace grounds so that I can check on the Italian lions. I go as often as I can and, as I’m sure you can imagine, seeing the lions in their temporary enclosure is a good motivation to keep on going until we get the land agreement and can build a spacious home for the lions with grass and trees. The proposed site for the new Centre is shown below.

I know I end every Blog with a call to action, but please do help if you can.

The Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre will cost around UK£ 1 million (US$ 2 million) to build and equip, and it will cost UK£ 250,000 (US$ 500,000) per year to fund the Centre and its conservation and education programmes.

We must get the Italian lions, Dolo and other wildlife in captivity in Ethiopia into spacious enclosures.

And if anyone wants to help pay for the care of the Italian lions, they cost £10 (US$20) each per day to keep.

More news in a few days,

James

Hello from a wet and cold Ethiopia!

Many people think Ethiopia is baking hot all year. In fact, different parts of the country have very different climates. Here in the capital of Addis Abeba, we are 2,400 metres (6,500 feet) above sea level. For the three month rainy season the weather is much like an autumn day in Europe.

A few months ago, Born Free was told about a lion that was being illegally kept as a tourist attraction in a small cage in the town of Dolo on the Ethiopian/ Somali border. For the first four years of his life, the ‘Dolo lion’ had been kept restrained on a chain just one metre long for 24 hours a day. The chain was biting into the lion’s neck and the photo below shows his dejected stance and poor condition.

The Wildlife Department asked the Born Free team to help and the lion was confiscated. However, because our new Wildlife rescue, Conservation and Education Centre has not yet been built, we had to quickly select a temporary home for the lion. The enclosure he is now in at the headquarters of the Awash National Park is by no means ideal, but is the only enclosure we can use until we can build a spacious new enclosure with trees and grass. (Lions that have been raised in captivity can never be released back into the wild because they have lost their fear of humans and can be more dangerous than wild lions that stay away from humans.)

Even after a few weeks on a proper diet and without that restricting chain the Dolo lion had a spring in his step. (see below).

The photo below shows the lion today. His mane is growing, but may never grow around his neck where the chain was.

If anyone wants to help pay for the care of this lion, he costs £10 (US$20) per day to keep.

And, if you’d like to help Born Free raise funds for the new Centre or would like to sponsor an animal please visit www.bornfree.org.uk.

More news in a few days,

James

The Lilongwe wildlife Centre is a new and exciting project for Malawi based in the Capital City, Lilongwe.  In only its second year it is already rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing its orphans back to the wild….there is no facility of its kind in Malawi.  Watch the Centre grow over the coming months and years and follow the stories of some of the animals that are confiscated from illegal traders, injured or orphaned in the wild.  Follow our dedicated team (both local and international) in their weekly routines, experience our successes, and share in our disappointments.  Watch us grow into what we all believe will be a model on which other facilities around the world should be modelled.  Let us meet some of the team first -

Hi, my name is Lee Stewart, the Operations Manager of the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre…  I have spent this morning darting a young male duiker (a small antelope -similar to a European deer but with horns not antlers) who needed to be moved to a new enclosure from the vervet monkey’s enclosure, where he was being kept temporarily.  Antelope are usually darted with a drug called M99 which is an opiod derivative that is extremely dangerous to its users (although extremely affective in game capture).  With M99 unavailable, we tried something different, using a Zoletil and Xylazine combination. Micky has he is affectionally known at the Centre is a feisty young character having been brought to us as a sub-adult. He was hand raised by an expatriate living within Lilongwe having been orphaned as a youngster. He had become a little too dangerous for the family and had injured a young girl with his horns, so it was time for him to move on. This is fairly typical situation with wild animals reared in a human household.

 
Micky was extremely wary of the situation as I had darted him two days earlier with a different combination…a combination that failed miserably!  Eventually the drugs were administered and two hours later he had made a full recovery and was ready to enjoy his new enclosure…and his new female Christie!!  A successful morning by all accounts…and the start of a beautiful relationship. 

Both duikers will be released as a pair, back to the wild, later on in the year where they will be monitored by our team…at least until we are confident that are ready to be left alone.

My name is Tracey and I am the new Marketing Manager for the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre. I arrived in Lilongwe in January this year, having previously lived in Romania, Ukraine, UK and South Africa. I have always wanted to work with animals and this is a brilliant opportunity for me to finally do a job I can see the point of – helping the wildlife of Malawi. So much better than your normal 9 -5, that’s for sure! My job is to raise awareness of the Wildlife Centre locally and internationally and the work we do for the animals, and at the same time to raise much needed funds for the Centre via donations (Please see our donation page as well as the Wildlife Direct donation option to the right!), corporate sponsorships, individual sponsorships, our adoption scheme and our Friends of the Wildlife Centre scheme

For more information on Lilongwe Wildlife Centre and the People and Wildlife Centre pilot visit http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/paw-centres/lilongwe-wildlife-centre/

Welcome to the Born Free Ethiopia blog!

My name is James Young.  Join me as I help create a new Wildlife Centre from scratch!

Many people have the impression that Ethiopia is nothing but desert with endless famine and right now Ethiopia is in the news again because the lack of rains last year meant less grain was harvested and now there are food shortages in some rural areas. However, most of Ethiopia is actually much greener than your might expect and most years it rains solidly for three months! This year, the rains have just started with torrential downpours most days.

You may also be surprised to learn there’s a great variety of wildlife here including elephant, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena and over 800 species of birds. Several species are only found in Ethiopia including the Ethiopian Wolf, the Mountain Nyala and the world’s only grazing primate, the Gelada baboon.

As more people learn just how special Ethiopia is, every year more and more visitors come from all over the world to see the wildlife and ancient rock-hewn churches, experience life in an ethnic village, horse ride or walk in the beautiful countryside, and enjoy meeting some of the friendliest people in the world. Many visitors are surprised by the modern buildings in the bustling capital of Addis Abeba and the delicious macchiato and espresso coffee available in the hundreds of cafes.

The country’s protected areas and wildlife are managed by the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority, but their resources are very limited. In almost every National Park and protected area there are people living with their cattle and goats, and illegal hunting and trading of wildlife is common.

It’s not just the wild animals that need help. There are 20 lions being kept in small cages in the Addis Abeba Zoo that get prodded with sticks to roar for photographs.

For the last seven months I have been setting up the Ethiopia office of Born Free. You would not believe the number of hours of meetings and the seemingly endless number of forms I needed to fill out and get stamped, but in February 2008 Born Free Ethiopia was given permission to start work in the country.
In partnership with the Wildlife Authority, Born Free is setting up a Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre 25 kilometres (15 ½ miles) outside the capital city. The President of Ethiopia has helped us find a wonderful 80 hectare (197 ½ acre) piece of land and I hope we will sign the leasehold agreement in just a few weeks time. A priority will be to build large enclosures for the first lions. Imagine how good they will feel to live in a grassy enclosure with trees rather than the cement floor they have now.

The new Wildlife Centre will support the Wildlife Authority by caring for orphaned or injured wildlife as well as taking in wildlife confiscated from animal traders. Where possible the animals will be released back into a protected area when they are healthy and old enough to survive in the wild. We will also begin several scientific studies to learn more about Ethiopian wildlife so we can plan ways to conserve the existing Ethiopian wildlife.

I hope you will visit this site regularly and share with me the step-by-step creation of this Centre that is so badly needed.

In my next blog I will introduce you to two orphaned lion cubs that are first in line for a new home.
If you’d like to help Born Free raise funds for the new Centre please donate now through Wildlife Direct or visit www.bornfree.org.uk stating you’d like the funds to go to the WRCEC.

More news in a few days,

James