Born Free

Hi, my name is Rebecca Heath from Chester, England. I was a volunteer at the Widlife Centre for 2 months from March to May of this year. The time went by so quickly, it only feels like 2 minutes since I arrived!!

Most of my work time was spent at the quarantine area, helping to feed and clean the animals there until they could be moved to the larger enclosures. I especially loved bottle feeding the baby vervet monkeys. They are so mischievous, always trying to steal each others milk, so it was not an easy task, but it was very entertaining!!

I was also lucky to be around when the Wildlife Centre rescued a female baboon and a blue monkey during their deal with Mua Mission, at the end of March. It was very rewarding to see them settled in at the Centre in nice big enclosures after being kept in such small cages for so long. Ada, the baboon, was very overweight when she arrived because she didn’t have room to get any exercise and has since lost nearly 3kgs since being here, so hopefully soon she will b fit and healthy and ready to join the other baboons in the large enclosure.

One of my favourite moments, and possibly the most exciting as well, being on of those once in a lifetime moments for me, was when the leopard, Kambuku, was given a health check. Kambuku is normally very shy and likes to keep himself to himself in his enclosure, so it was a real treat for me to see him up close and to actually touch his fur!! Oh I forgot to say, he had been darted and aneasthetised so that the vets could do his health check!!

I gained many amazing memories and lots of good friends while being a volunteer at the Centre and really enjoyed my time there. I also got to see some of Malawi, which is an amazing country, especially the lake. I would recommend it to anyone!!

That’s me in the brown top in the photos. These are the other volunteers and animal carers at the Centre. Photo thanks to my friend Tina.

For more information about volunteering visit http://www.lilongwewildlife.org/volunteer.html

Born Free has two sanctuaries situated on Shamwari Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Both these sanctuaries have fully equipped education centres. Our education program has been running since 1999 with the opening of our first sanctuary the Julie Ward Centre. We work closely with schools from across the country and with our local communities. Our education program gives children an opportunity to learn about Born Free and its principals and to see the amazing wildlife of the Eastern Cape roaming free on Shamwari. Through the Born Free Global Friends Campaign and corporate sponsorship we are able to help five schools in close vicinity to the sanctuaries with much needed equipment and infrastructure.  With our community projects we hope to empower people by giving them necessary skills to generate income and we are currently training locals from Paterson as field guides.

Education is very important to us as it is the only way that beautiful animals like the ones we have in our sanctuaries will stop ending up in the conditions in which they are found. All the rescued lions and leopards at our sanctuaries are ambassadors for other captive wild animals living in horrific conditions. Born Free/Shamwari has a very dedicated and dynamic education team who works closely with the animal care team and often assists with the care of the animals.

Christine Le Roux, Education Manager
My name is Christine Le Roux and I truly am the luckiest person alive as everyday from 8am to 5pm I get to live out my dream. Environmental Education is my biggest passion and I am so privileged to have a job that allows me to live out this passion each day. It is great working for an organization such as Born Free which allows me to make a difference in the world.

 My duties include the running of the education program and I am responsible for ensuring that a valid conservation educational experience is offered to all students and that sustainable community projects are run. I am also in charge of the Global Friends Campaign in South Africa and I approach companies for additional sponsorship for the schools as we have to share our funds with five schools.

This year is very exciting for me as in April I will have officially been working for BFF/Shamwari for a year. I will also be starting with a project that very close to my heart known as Eco-Schools. Eco-Schools is an international program that encourages schools to live sustainably, manage resources wisely and improve environmental management. It incorporates environmental learning with the school curriculum. Each of the schools will choose one of the five themes (Healthy Living, Resource Management, Nature and Biodiversity, Heritage and Culture or Local and Global Issues). They then have to do a project and lesson plans relating to the theme. For more info on Eco-Schools visit there website at: www.wessa.org.za/eduecoschools.asp

I will be updating you all on our blog with all the fun and exciting things our education department gets up to!

Matthews Dingaan, Education Assistant Julie Ward Centre
My name is Matthews Dingaan and I am the newest addition to the Born Free Shamwari Education Team. I love being outdoors working with children, teaching them about conservation and why wild animals should be kept in the wild.  I like helping out with the animal care team as that way I get to care for the animals which is also a great passion of mine. I am happy to be part of the team and I look forward to influencing the lives children in a positive way.

Sidney Clay, Animal Care Assistant
My name is Sidney Clay and I have been working for Born Free/Shamwari for over 6 years now. Until very recently I was involved in the Education Department but felt that I needed a change in focus after such a long time. Education still remains very close to my heart and I help out with the education team where ever I can. I have been living in the Paterson community for many years and I am well known by the people. Because I am part of the community and have a great understanding of how think and work I act as the community liaison for the Born Free/Shamwari team.

For more information on the work Born Free undertakes rescuing big cats from horrific conditions in zoos and circuses, please click here

In August 2006, I arrived at a Catholic Mission 3 hours drive from Lilongwe, in a small area of Malawi called Mua, my purpose of being there was to find a small menagerie of animals that were reportedly being housed in small dilapidated cages.  It was not long before I stumbled across the sad array of animals within the zoo; it contained an extremely obese baboon, an attention-seeking blue monkey, a terrified porcupine, a sad looking crocodile (as sad as a crocodile can look!!), pythons in a deep dark pit and a variety of small antelope and birds of prey. Although extremely depressing to see, all the animals had been rescued by the founder of the Mua Mission Cultural Centre, Father Bouche, who had arrived at the Mission in the mid 70’s and had accepted many wild orphaned animals in over the years, out of pity.  They had all been victims of the illegal bushmeat and pet trades in and around his area.   

When visiting the Mission for the first time, it was always obvious where Father Bouche’s passion and talents lie; the Cultural Centre, its dancers, its carvings, a small lodge and now recently opened Museum are impressive to say the least; they are a true testament to the diversity of Malawi’s tourism potential, a true gem of an attraction for both local and international visitors.  And so, over the past two years the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre and the Mission have been discussing ways in which the zoo could be dismantled, the animals relocated to the Wildlife Centre and the zoo replaced with a new facility; a facility that would not require animals in captivity, that would complement the cultural centre and its educational activities and that would provide a tranquil environment in which locals and tourists could explore and learn about cultural, wildlife and environmental links. 

After many visits to Mua, my visit two weeks ago was by far the most enjoyable.  Travelling to Mua with two boxes was one thing, travelling home with two boxes and two successfully darted animals was another, our baboon and blue monkey had taken their first steps back to a more ‘wild’ life.  First stop, Lilongwe, where they would be placed in quarantine and later introduced to large open topped enclosures with their own kind. 

But for our yellow baboon, Aide, there was a special treat in store.  Two days prior to the Mua rescue the Centre had rescued a young baboon called Chimpy (yes Chimpy!!) who was being kept on a two metre length of chain at a private residence within Lilongwe.  After a lonely existence on her own for many years, Aide would now spend quarantine and possibly the rest of her life with her new baboon friend, Chimpy.

This relocation of just two animals from the Mission to the Centre, marks the first step in a transitional process that will see all the animals removed from Mua and the zoo replaced with an alternative attraction for both local Malawian and International visitors.  A process that will require funding.  The Born Free Foundation have once again stepped in and have agreed to fund the relocation of the animals and committed funds to the development of a ‘Sensory Garden’ within the existing grounds of the Cultural Centre. Financial support has also been provided by Body Shop that has allowed the Centre to build two new enclosures at the Centre which will enable the centre to rescue some of the remaining birds of prey and porcupine. 

Thank you to both Born Free and Body Shop for helping to make this first (and future) rescue/s happen.

Lee Stewart
Operations and Development Manager

Hello blogsters.

You remember recently I told you about two tiny baby Bush Babies we rescued, Barack and Obama? Well an update on our boys.

They are growing well, they weighed only about 112 grams each when we got them and now they have doubled in size and weigh just above 150 grams! They were syringe fed at first every evening and early morning but now they are lapping by themselves and also eat fruit, grasshoppers and boiled eggs for protein.

Being nocturnal animals they sleep all day but spend all night chasing each other around their enclosure! They are becoming quite adventurous with their climbing skills but when it comes time to sleep they still snuggle up in each others arms for comfort and warmth – this is such a sweet sight to see. They NEVER sleep apart or alone.

Once again, please keep you donations coming, every little bit helps us to help rescued animals like these.

Have a very merry Christmas from all the team at Lilongwe Wildlife Centre and all the very best for the New Year!!  We look forward to giving you lots more interesting blogs to read!!

For more on the work we do here in Malawi visit Lilongwe’s website at http://www.lilongwewildlife.org/

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

Hello blogsters.

Well, the Olive baboons are settling in well and are coming close to the end of their quarantine period. We have, however, been able to introduce one of the pairs named Jack and Jill (we had two pairs and a group of four in three separate night rooms) into the night room with the group of four and things went very well. So, now these six baboons can move around the two night rooms and stretch their legs a bit more, so to speak. We had expected a bit of a stand-off with the two larger males but they got on fine. It was two of the females who were a bit antsy but they soon sorted things out and now the group make an impressive bunch. It is our plan to eventually introduce them to the other pair and then all eight of them can live as one large troop.

On a different note let me introduce you to our latest rescues. They are two tiny, tiny bush babies. One of our education team was taking a tour group around the Centre when suddenly something fell out of a tree just outside our perimeter fence. On inspection it was identified as an adult bush baby. A group of children had been chasing her and she had lost her footing and fallen, probably breaking her neck. The children ran away at this point when we intervened but shortly afterwards we heard the cries of her babies looking for her. They were coming down from the tree tops straight into danger. Luckily for them our team were there to take them in. They are so small they were still suckling. So out came our collection of small dolls’ bottles (yes, dolls!) – human baby bottles are too big!

The two babies, now called Barack and Obama (no less!) are being cared for night and day, thanks to our team of carers and volunteers and are slowly building up their body weight and are just starting to climb out of their box and start exploring the world.

Bush babies, mostly nocturnal, are a little similar to humans in that they need to stay with their parents for up to nearly a year before they are strong and wise enough to set off on their own, so you can imagine how much time and care that will be needed to help these two little chaps find their feet in the world.

Once again, please keep you donations coming, every little bit helps us to help rescued babies like these.  For more information you can visit our website at http://www.lilongwewildlife.org/.

 Many thanks, Lee

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