Born Free

Category: Born Free, Born Free Ethiopia | Date: Aug 08 2008 | By: bornfree

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

Tags: Born Free, conservation, Dolo, education, ethiopia, Italian lions, rescue

3 responses so far

Category: Born Free, Born Free Ethiopia | Date: Jul 22 2008 | By: bornfree

On Thursday 17 July, I drove with two helpers to Awash National Park.

One of the helpers was Bereket, the newly appointed Born Free construction supervisor, and the other was Rea Tschopp, a veterinarian who had helped Born Free remove the chain from the Dolo lion (see my earlier blog here).

We set off at 6am for the 4 ½  hour journey east from Addis. First, through the conjested Debre Zeit, then on through Nazret and into the hills. Recent rain has transformed the countryside. Dusty brown turned into lush green. Incredible to think there is such a drought to the west and east. Everywhere farmers were ploughing with their ancient wooden ploughshares pulled by oxen. The journey from Addis took. As we approached Awash we had to wait for some Afar pastoralists and their hundreds of camels to cross the road.

Our mission was to repair and strengthen the lion enclosure at the Awash headquarters, where the Dolo lion is temporarily being kept until the new Born Free Wildlife Rescue and Education Centre is built. Wild lions in the park had stretched and weakened the mesh. Sadly, Dolo can never be released back into the wild, so it is important his enclosure is secure.

At the Park headquarters, I asked that the Park staff could stay out of sight, and especially Kole the Dolo lion carer, because Dolo associates him with food and gets very excited whenever he is around.

It’s always important when working with wild animals to carefully plan the procedure in advance. Quiet at all times. No sudden movements. Always work together on the same side of the enclosure so lion never feels ‘surrounded’. First, clear the thorn bush that had been put around the enclosure to prevent wild lions from getting too close. Second, slowly bring the 25 metre roll of mesh to the side of the enclosure and see how lion reacts. Third, leave the roll of mesh close to the enclosure on the sunniest side of cage and back off for five minutes so the lion can come up and check it out and we can monitor how agitated the lion is.

If Dolo became agitated Rea would need to blow dart the cat with tranquillizer so that we could complete the repair work safely and without the lion becoming stressed. Rea hoped the tranquillizer would not be necessary as the lion had spent all its life with humans close by.

Bereket and I cleared the thorn bushes that surrounded the site while Dolo lay watching us. When we carried the mesh close to the enclosure Dolo came over to check it out, then walked to the shadiest side of enclosure and lay down with his head facing away from us.
Since Dolo was obviously not bothered at all by our presence, the tranquillizer was thankfully not necessary. Rea sat on lion watch duty to warn us if Dolo started to come up to where we were working, since we had to have fingers and hands right against the wire as we stitched the new mesh in place.

Bereket and I lifted the 2 metre wide roll till it was vertical and gently lent it against the existing mesh wall. Dolo waved a fly from his face and yawned. We gently started to unroll the mesh around the side of the enclosure stitching the mesh to the uprights and the existing mesh at frequent intervals. Dolo fell into a deep sleep.

Rea cut the stitching wire into lengths and Bereket and I continued to unravel the mesh roll around the enclosure stitching as we went. The entire repair job took two hours and Dolo slept for 1 ¾ hours!

We could not believe how laid back the cat was.

Needless to say, when the goat carcass was brought out, Dolo was wide awake…

We loaded up our tools and I drove the 5 hour drive back trying to keep smiling as bus after bus came around blind corners overtaking overladen lorries… …Ethiopian driving really is something!

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 please donate here at Wildlife Direct or via www.bornfree.org.uk.

More news in a few days,

James

Tags: Born Free, Dolo, ethiopia, Wildlife Rescue Centre

5 responses so far

Category: Born Free, Born Free Ethiopia | Date: Jul 10 2008 | By: bornfree

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

Tags: Born Free, conservation, Dolo, ethiopia, lion, rescue

5 responses so far