July 7, 2016

Today I was assigned to the nursery- so we were responsible for taking care of the babies.  The first thing I did was feed Breezer, the bush pig- who has no tail because it was bitten off by a jack Russell who found him, and that is why he is here.  It was like feeding the dogs in the morning- he came running up to me when I walked into his cage and started rubbing on my legs and making little pig noises at me.  I hand fed him a little bit and then he got impatient and grabbed a hold of my jeans and wouldn’t let go so I just gave him the rest of his food!!  

After we finished feeding in the morning we had to go grasshopper catching…yup..here’s a net, here’s a big field, here’s a container to put them in, catch grasshoppers- it is way harder than you would think!!  

They are very big on tea time here.   So at 9:45, you break for tea.  Until 10:30, then work for a half hour and then it is animal time.  During animal time, you get to pick what animals you can spend time with.  I went in with Prince, who is a Serval.  He is an oversized house cat.  He comes up and starts rubbing all over you and drooling and purring.  And if he really likes you, he pees on you.  After that, I had a thorough grooming by the monkeys.  You sit by the edge of their cage and they pick through your hair and your arms and groom you.  It feels very weird.  I also spent some time with JJ- an orphaned duiker.  He is super cute, comes running up when you go in the enclosure and lets you scratch him and love on him and will then climb in your lap for a short nap in the sun.  It’s so weird to sit there with a duiker- which looks like a miniature deer- curled up and sleeping in your lap. 

After lunch we had to pull ticks off of the tortoises.  The ticks they have here are HUGE.  This task, like with the grasshoppers, not so easy either.  The ticks crawl way up their legs so you need to wait until the tortoise decides to put their legs all the way out and grab the ticks of off them.  And then I’m sure the tortoise doesn’t like it too much and they get more and more reluctant to extend their legs out.  Oh and lets not forget that a major defense mechanism of tortoises is to pee and poop on you.  Guess you gotta take one for the team when you are trying to get the ticks off a tortoise! 

I also put together a cage for some baby ducks, it was quite a boring cage so I went on a mission around the orphanage to see what I could find to put in there to give them something more to do.  Again, things are so limited so I had to really use my imagination!  I found them a little box to hide in, a second little pond, some reeds for them to eat and swim around in, some rocks for their ponds.  I think it came out quite nice.  

On Saturday, I am going to sit down with Nicky, one of the owners, to come up with a wish list and prices of the things for the orphanage.  I will not be able to collect stuff and send it over here, because it probably won’t get here, but I would like to be able to collect donations and people can earmark what they want their donations to go towards.  They need everything from school supplies for the schools they work with to poles and wire and fencing and cement, wheelbarrows, sponges, soap, forks, knives, and spoons for the baby kitchen.

 

Tomorrow I am going to Matopos to see rhinos, cave paintings, and also visit a local village! 

I would post more pictures, but I have limited data and going on facebook and Instagram uses a LOT of data.

July 6, 2016 

Today, I realized how spoiled we are in our country…we were cleaning out some of the pens and the tools are so limited…one shovel.. one rake...one bucket….it makes me appreciate how easily we can run to the store and pick up a new muck fork or a new wheelbarrow, or oh well, the handle fell of this bucket, I’ll just throw it away and buy a new one.  And when you are not the ONLY person cleaning the same pen, you can see how this can cause a problem.  It makes me want to go home and go through the barn and collect all the tools that are “broken”- by our standards- and ship them over here.  But, unfortunately, it isn’t possible, you can’t ship anything over about 5 kilos…so a little over 10 pounds.  

I saw a zebra today!  I helped go out into the game preserve here to take some food out for those animals.  We didn’t get real close to her but she was standing a little bit away in the brush. 

I also helped rebuild lion pen fencing... I have a whole new appreciation for building horse fencing…it doesn’t involve over 10 foot poles that have to be cemented three feet into the ground!  Of course that also involved digging the old concrete out of the ground…by hand.  Certainly not a job I envied of the staff here!  All they had was a 4 pound hammer and a pick.  No cement mixers either.  

Surprisingly, one of the highlights (so far!) of being over here has been eating meat!!  They have no idea what commercial food production is and no one can afford to spend money on the hormones or antibiotics or any of the other crap that is in our food supply.   They actually give me some funny looks when I explain to them how meat is produced in the US.  Everything here is what we would call free range, grass finished, pick one!   

The nutrition of these animals is amazing.. well I think so!  There are no commercial diets!  Everything that animals are fed is leftovers!  They get the human left overs from dinner, there are places in town that give the orphanage any fruit and veggies that aren’t sold or are too bruised or damaged to sell and they are also fed left over chips.  But not our chips, they are all these bizarre flavored corn puffs, like chicken and beef.  Not really what I would choose as a snack.  So they look like cheese balls and Cheetos but in different colors and flavors!  The sheep diets are made up of trees in the area, seed pods, some fruits and veggies.  There is no sheep feed.  There is no hay.  And most of the little buggers are straight up fat!!!  

There is a civil war going on here.. but please don’t worry!!  It is not directed towards tourists, and that would actually be worse for people here because the tourists bring money into the area.  People can not get money out of banks, because there is none, and the government is trying to impose all these ridiculous things.  For example, say you want to buy a can of beans, well the government prices it at $1.50.  But then you can import it for $0.70.  Which would you buy?!!?  Obvious answer- so the government is saying fine- you can’t import anything then, and forcing people to pay the higher prices.  The protests are supposed to be quiet and peaceful.  Anytime anyone travels off of property, we go with one of the owners of the orphanage or one of the workers.  They always travel in 4x4 vehicles and are well versed in backroads and ways around roadblocks and things like that.  When we travel to Victoria Falls, the bus driver is in contact with the orphanage for the entire trip up and back.  We take so much for granted.  Even a trip to the store, at home you can decide what you want for dinner and run to the store or a restaurant and get anything you want.  Here it is a 45 minute drive into town, sometimes the stores are closed and you might be able to get anything.

The temperature is probably in the low 70’s…I wish our winters were like this!  It’s funny in the morning to hear people say how cold it is.  I told them they don’t know what cold is!!! 

July 5, 2016

July 5, 2016

I pet a leopard today!!!!  I scratched her back like she was a house cat!  Another one licked my hand.  They are beautiful animals up close.   

 I was 6 inches away from a male lion.  The power in these animals is amazing!  You can feel their self confidence rolling off of them.  I do think that the female lions are more intimidating than the males- the males just really don’t care, they know they are big and they know that you will bring them food.  Of course it would only take one swipe of their paw and you would be done, but they just don’t care- they want food from you.  In the wild the females typically hunt, the males show up at the last minutes and eat what they want.  The females are calculating…they look at you and you can see them thinking about what they would do to you if given the chance.

This morning, we went on a tour of the entire park and learned about its history and all of the animals in the park.  The park is over 40 years old and has survived two major upheavals in Zimbabwe.  At one point there were actually more animals and more diversity of species, including rhinos, but they were poached off the land.  The founder of the orphanage, Viv Wilson, was originally a ranger helping to control the Tsetse fly outbreak (a biting fly that causes sleeping sickness).  To do this, they built a fence, and then two kilometers away built another fence and then cleared everything out of the middle space that could be a carrier for the disease or something for the flies to bite.  As they were clearing the land, there were many young animals that were injured or orphaned and Viv convinced the other rangers to begin bringing the animals to him and he started taking them home.  At the time him and his wife lived in town.  After that, Viv worked in the Natural History museum and people would bring dead animals into the museum to be mounted and for data collection, but not all were dead- so he took these home as well.  Eventually, they decided they had too many animals to continue to live in town so they bought the property that would eventually become Chipangali.  The land was barren- except for some cacti.  They set up a tent to sleep in and built animals enclosures first.  And as animals started to come, they expanded and expanded.  The pumps for the water have to be encased in cement or they will be stolen.    You cannot even imagine the level of poverty in this country- we are so very lucky for what we have in the US.  Each of the animals in the park has their own story- it is impossible to remember them all!!  The stories range from leopards that were originally raised as pets and- shocking- they became too big and powerful to keep in the house, to a bush pig that was attacked by the family’s dog, to owls that are hit by cars (a common occurrence in this area because they land in the roads to eat roadkill and are blinded by headlights when cars come by), to reptiles that people bought as a mistake.  The park is run solely by the money it brings in from the people who come to visit and some of the money the volunteers pay to come here.  

There are multiple trips that are being organized for us, including Victoria Falls next week, a visit to Matopos- which includes a rhino walk, visit to a local village, and to see cave paintings, and also a research trip.  The person who takes us on the Matopos trip used to run a zoo in the United States, and I was told that he also currently works at the Philadelphia Zoo.  It would be awesome to have a contact there for when I come back….The orphanage is doing research with carnivores at local farms- the animals are trapped and tranqed, and then data is collected and the animals are fitted with radio collars and released.  I am super excited for all of these trips- especially the research trip!  I plan on participating in all of them!

We started working in our groups this afternoon- we are divided up into groups and each day we work in a different area of the park.  I started working the carnivores.  This includes the leopards, lions, jackals, hyenas, and servals. First we were just sweeping up some of the leaves along the walkways.  It sounds boring right…that’s what I thought at first, but first we have to make brush brooms.  And again..sweeping sounds so boring, but you are sweeping and you look up and you are face to face with a 600 pound lion or a 300 pound leopard- who wants to lick you hand and then rubs against the fence for you to scratch.  No one is allowed in the enclosures with these big cats- just because they are ok with you petting them through the fence, they will still look for weaknesses and wait for your to be distracted for the slightest little bit and then attack.  We helped to feed all the animals as well.. I helped cut up a horse…that was a little rough- at first, I just had to keep telling myself it was for a good cause and the animals need to eat too.  So to feed the lions, one of the workers throws the pieces of meat and bone over the fence for them.  They won’t let the volunteers do it in case someone does not make it over the fence- the lions will jump up and try and grab it and could possibly pull down the enclosure.  Some of the lions are locked in a separate area and we go in and put the meat in the enclosure.  The leopards are fed the same way.  There is an obvious hierarchy for the lions.  Even in an enclosure of 5 animals, the male eats first and you can throw a piece right in between two females and the subordinate one does not make a move for it.  

The food for the carnivores comes from local farms- when they have an animal die.  There was a calf that was dropped off yesterday but it was not able to be used because it was infested with ticks.  Even as it was sitting on the “slab”- the engorged ticks were jumping off the carcass and you could actually see them moving across the ground looking for more live animals to jump on.  

When we came out of our cabin for dinner tonight, there was an owl sitting right outside.  His name is Max…he was raised here and was released but he won’t leave the orphanage.  So he “plays” with people, but it really comes across as he is attacking us…yup.. we are currently being held hostage in the cabin by an owl named Max…..

Max update…the Max problem has been resolved..I brought him a peace offering..a mouse…apparently he comes here for food when he is having a rough week, kind of like when you go home to mom for some home cooked food.  So- since getting the mouse, he has left our porch.  

Tomorrow I will be meeting with the director of the orphanage and two of the other workers to talk about the ideas my students came up with on animal enrichment ideas- so present the ideas and see what will work and what needs to be changed, and then hopefully the volunteers will be able to start building implementing some of the things.

Also, the paperwork for the cape buffalo went through 3 days ago, so hopefully they will be arriving in the next couple of weeks!

July 5, 2016

July 5, 2016

I pet a leopard today!!!!  I scratched her back like she was a house cat!  Another one licked my hand.  They are beautiful animals up close.   

 I was 6 inches away from a male lion.  The power in these animals is amazing!  You can feel their self confidence rolling off of them.  I do think that the female lions are more intimidating than the males- the males just really don’t care, they know they are big and they know that you will bring them food.  Of course it would only take one swipe of their paw and you would be done, but they just don’t care- they want food from you.  In the wild the females typically hunt, the males show up at the last minutes and eat what they want.  The females are calculating…they look at you and you can see them thinking about what they would do to you if given the chance.

This morning, we went on a tour of the entire park and learned about its history and all of the animals in the park.  The park is over 40 years old and has survived two major upheavals in Zimbabwe.  At one point there were actually more animals and more diversity of species, including rhinos, but they were poached off the land.  The founder of the orphanage, Viv Wilson, was originally a ranger helping to control the Tsetse fly outbreak (a biting fly that causes sleeping sickness).  To do this, they built a fence, and then two kilometers away built another fence and then cleared everything out of the middle space that could be a carrier for the disease or something for the flies to bite.  As they were clearing the land, there were many young animals that were injured or orphaned and Viv convinced the other rangers to begin bringing the animals to him and he started taking them home.  At the time him and his wife lived in town.  After that, Viv worked in the Natural History museum and people would bring dead animals into the museum to be mounted and for data collection, but not all were dead- so he took these home as well.  Eventually, they decided they had too many animals to continue to live in town so they bought the property that would eventually become Chipangali.  The land was barren- except for some cacti.  They set up a tent to sleep in and built animals enclosures first.  And as animals started to come, they expanded and expanded.  The pumps for the water have to be encased in cement or they will be stolen.    You cannot even imagine the level of poverty in this country- we are so very lucky for what we have in the US.  Each of the animals in the park has their own story- it is impossible to remember them all!!  The stories range from leopards that were originally raised as pets and- shocking- they became too big and powerful to keep in the house, to a bush pig that was attacked by the family’s dog, to owls that are hit by cars (a common occurrence in this area because they land in the roads to eat roadkill and are blinded by headlights when cars come by), to reptiles that people bought as a mistake.  The park is run solely by the money it brings in from the people who come to visit and some of the money the volunteers pay to come here.  

There are multiple trips that are being organized for us, including Victoria Falls next week, a visit to Matopos- which includes a rhino walk, visit to a local village, and to see cave paintings, and also a research trip.  The person who takes us on the Matopos trip used to run a zoo in the United States, and I was told that he also currently works at the Philadelphia Zoo.  It would be awesome to have a contact there for when I come back….The orphanage is doing research with carnivores at local farms- the animals are trapped and tranqed, and then data is collected and the animals are fitted with radio collars and released.  I am super excited for all of these trips- especially the research trip!  I plan on participating in all of them!

We started working in our groups this afternoon- we are divided up into groups and each day we work in a different area of the park.  I started working the carnivores.  This includes the leopards, lions, jackals, hyenas, and servals. First we were just sweeping up some of the leaves along the walkways.  It sounds boring right…that’s what I thought at first, but first we have to make brush brooms.  And again..sweeping sounds so boring, but you are sweeping and you look up and you are face to face with a 600 pound lion or a 300 pound leopard- who wants to lick you hand and then rubs against the fence for you to scratch.  No one is allowed in the enclosures with these big cats- just because they are ok with you petting them through the fence, they will still look for weaknesses and wait for your to be distracted for the slightest little bit and then attack.  We helped to feed all the animals as well.. I helped cut up a horse…that was a little rough- at first, I just had to keep telling myself it was for a good cause and the animals need to eat too.  So to feed the lions, one of the workers throws the pieces of meat and bone over the fence for them.  They won’t let the volunteers do it in case someone does not make it over the fence- the lions will jump up and try and grab it and could possibly pull down the enclosure.  Some of the lions are locked in a separate area and we go in and put the meat in the enclosure.  The leopards are fed the same way.  There is an obvious hierarchy for the lions.  Even in an enclosure of 5 animals, the male eats first and you can throw a piece right in between two females and the subordinate one does not make a move for it.  

The food for the carnivores comes from local farms- when they have an animal die.  There was a calf that was dropped off yesterday but it was not able to be used because it was infested with ticks.  Even as it was sitting on the “slab”- the engorged ticks were jumping off the carcass and you could actually see them moving across the ground looking for more live animals to jump on.  

When we came out of our cabin for dinner tonight, there was an owl sitting right outside.  His name is Max…he was raised here and was released but he won’t leave the orphanage.  So he “plays” with people, but it really comes across as he is attacking us…yup.. we are currently being held hostage in the cabin by an owl named Max…..

Max update…the Max problem has been resolved..I brought him a peace offering..a mouse…apparently he comes here for food when he is having a rough week, kind of like when you go home to mom for some home cooked food.  So- since getting the mouse, he has left our porch.  

Tomorrow I will be meeting with the director of the orphanage and two of the other workers to talk about the ideas my students came up with on animal enrichment ideas- so present the ideas and see what will work and what needs to be changed, and then hopefully the volunteers will be able to start building implementing some of the things.

Also, the paperwork for the cape buffalo went through 3 days ago, so hopefully they will be arriving in the next couple of weeks!