Nourish Nature's Needy in the Western Cape

When fires swept through Grootbos Private Nature Reserve in January, two baby large spotted genets lost their home and their family. Tiny, frightened and struggling with smoke inhalation, they arrived at the Kogelberg Biosphere Wildlife Rescue Centre needing round the clock care. After rehydration fluids and treatment, the weeks that followed were delicate as they slowly adapted to a specialised milk formula. Once weaned, all human contact stopped, and the team focused on stimulating enrichment and a varied diet of the prey genets would eat in the wild, with crickets a firm favourite. Nine months on, the two young adults have been released through a soft release programme, with the centre continuing to provide shelter and supplementary food while they find their feet. They are completely wild, wary of humans and ready for the big wide world.

That kind of journey is exactly what the Nourish Nature’s Needy campaign exists to support. Every patient at Kogelberg, the only permitted multi species rescue centre in the region, has different dietary needs, from milk formulas for orphaned mammals to whole prey for owls and carefully chosen feeds for reptiles and amphibians. Right now, the team is caring for honey badgers Bonnie and Clyde, who arrived separately as orphans and have bonded over shared meals and plenty of mischief. A Barn Owl is recovering from a fractured wing and severe dehydration, a Western Leopard Toad is resting a badly broken leg, and two Spotted Eagle Owlets that could not be returned to a vandalised nest are being raised with strict protocols to give them the best chance of hunting for themselves one day and many more animals in need.

To everyone who has given to this campaign so far, thank you. Support like yours helps cover the specialised food that underpins every stage of healing, and every one of these animals is a reminder that proper nourishment is where a second chance begins.