By Lente Roode | Project Leader
We are happy to report that Philipina’s cubs are now just over 4 months old and with your continued support are growing bigger and stronger each day to resemble their elegant mother more and more. We share an outline of some of the phases of their development below.
From milk to meat
The cubs survive solely on their mother’s milk during their first 8-12 weeks, after which they are slowly introduced to a meat diet which has been supplemented with essential vitamins. As a nursing mother, Philipina too receives supplements to ensure that she is healthy and well able to taken care of her offspring. The cubs initially get a taste of meat by nibbling from Philipina’s bowl but have now been given their own bowls from which to eat. The bowls are not put out in front of the cubs as one would do for a domestic pet, but in a feeding area. This area is separate from their large enclosure and is accessed through a “tunnel” which is only opened once the food has been put out and the curator has left the enclosure. This ensures the safety of the curator and protects the animals, as we prefer to avoid human interaction as far as possible to allow them to become the wild animals they deserve to be.
Growing taller and leaner
At birth, cubs are born blind and resemble little balls of fur weighing around 500 grams (17,637 ounces). After around 10 days, their eyes begin to open, and they start moving around the den. The furry covering on their backs, called a mantle, starts becoming evident. The mantle provides camouflage and protection from predators in the wild as the cubs resemble a honey badger, an aggressive little creature that is mostly avoided by predators because of its fierceness. The mantle is also thought to protect the cubs against the rain and heat of the harsh African sun. As you will see from the photos, the cubs are now longer and leaner in appearance and their mantles are slowly disappearing.
Social interaction
As the cubs grow up their social interaction increases and in addition to playing, they have found a favourite termite mound on which they perch themselves to relax and to view what is going on around them. Mom Philipina interacts with them through various chirping and purring noises.
Once again, a big thank-you to you, our supporters. Your donations have ensured that we can continue to feed and care for our cubs until they are released. This care includes the provision of their meat and supplements, as well as veterinary care, which includes their inoculations, and maintaining their enclosures.
We will keep you updated of their progress in our reports, but you can also follow us on social media to see more.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.