Giving Hyraxes Love, Care and Protection

Hello dear hyrax (dassie) supporters,

 First of all, thank you once again for supporting our beloved hyraxes. We honestly cannot believe how much love these little creatures receive from all over the world. We have always known that dassies are intelligent, funny, affectionate and full of personality, but seeing so many people following their adventures because they love them just as much as we do means a great deal to all of us at DAKTARI. AWAWA!!

 Winter has arrived in South Africa, which means cold mornings and chilly evenings. As soon as the sun comes out, both of our resident dassies waste no time warming themselves up.

 Caline's favourite place is the roof of our wildlife office (if not in the office, on top of a hot water bottle...). She spends hours there when it's sunshine and, of course, often in the company of her wild boyfriend, whom we simply call... Boyfriend. The two of them occasionally chase each other across the roof. If you didn't know what was happening, you would think a troop of monkeys had taken over the building.

Eric prefers staying closer to the ground. He has perfected the art of making himself a comfortable dust bath before stretching out completely in the warm sand to soak up the winter sun.

 Food preferences also change with the seasons. Black-eyed peas remain the number one favourite, but right now both Eric and Caline are firmly in their white cabbage era. We have noticed that their favourite vegetables seem to change throughout the year, so we fully expect beetroot to make a comeback once summer arrives.

 Speaking of friendships... while Caline has Boyfriend, we recently noticed that Eric seems to have found himself a little companion too. Naturally, we have named her Girlfriend. We are keeping a close eye on this new friendship and are curious to see where it leads.

Finally, one last little update. Eric's adult tusks have started growing. When he falls asleep, two tiny vampire teeth peek out from under his lips. They are still very small, but definitely becoming more noticeable.

Thank you for being part of Eric's and Caline's lives. Your support allows us to continue giving these wonderful little animals the care and freedom they deserve, while helping more people discover just how special hyraxes really are.

Warm wishes from all of us at DAKTARI.

P.S. If you would like to meet Eric and Caline in person, why not come and volunteer with us? They both live around camp, so chances are they'll become part of your day before you even realise it. You can find all the information about volunteering on our website HERE and we have availability in September, October and November this year!

Links:

• DAKTARI's TikTok!
• DAKTARI's instagram, follow our daily life here
• DAKTARI's Facebook page

Hello dear dassie supporter,

First of all, thank you so much for supporting our dear dassies (aka hyraxes). It really means a lot to us and to these little characters!

A little update since last time. It is baby season around the DAKTARI camp. We have two colonies of wild rock hyraxes living nearby, and recently we have spotted baby dassies in both. They are extremely shy. If you want to see one, you need to be very quiet, very patient, and move slowly. Even then, you might only see a tiny nose or two ears before they disappear again. They are clearly not ready for fame just yet.

Caline has been enjoying life as usual, especially in April when Michael Kuroda from HyraxHub on Instagram came to visit. As a real dassie lover, he gave her a lot of attention, which she fully accepted… as expected. For all of us at DAKTARI, it was also very nice to spend time with someone who understands just how special these animals are and helps share their story.
You will see in the photos that Caline is as happy as ever, often with her little tongue sticking out, which seems to be her signature look.

Eric is growing well and is now almost one year old, horray! We know he was born in May, so we are preparing a little celebration for him. There will definitely be a lot of black eyed peas involved (the favorite snack of the dassies!). 

He recently had a check-up with the wildlife vet and everything is as expected. Healthy, active, and still a little bit cheeky. Lately he has been chasing one of our dogs, Calvin, for fun. Eric thinks it is a brilliant game. Calvin does not agree at all. We are doing our best to keep the peace between one very confident dassie and one very confused dog.

The weather is also starting to change. The mornings are getting cooler, and when it gets cold, the dassies quickly look for warmth. Caline goes straight for her hot water bottles, while Eric prefers a warm blanket. We even found a little knitted sweater for him, and he absolutely loved it. Warm and stylish. You can see for yourself in the attached photo.

Thank you again for being part of our dassies’ story. We will share more soon, especially after Eric’s birthday, which we expect to be taken very seriously by him.

Warm wishes from all of us at DAKTARI

P.S. Want the full hyrax experience? Come and volunteer with us! Eric and Caline live their best free life around camp, so you might find them joining your day without warning. All the details about volunteering with us are on our website HERE.

Links:

• DAKTARI instagram
• DAKTARI LinkedIn
• DAKTARI's Facebook