By Sonja Heineck | Marketing Manager
If you remember my last report, I mentioned that it was the start of baby season in the South African bush. The past few weeks have definitely shown it to be in full swing.
Our baby nyala, Poquita, is doing extremely well! She has been released from her enclosure and is living in the nearby bush with our other two nyala from last season. She does still come back for her bottle of milk three times a day but she is starting to forage and eat with the other nyala as well. We will continue to keep an eye on her as she grows older but are so thrilled to see her thriving in the bush.
Just in the past two weeks, we've welcomed a female baby mongoose, two small baby birds, and another little squirrel. We also successfully transferred a baby vervet monkey that was brought to us to the Vervet Monkey Foundation in Tzaneen, South Africa.
Our baby banded mongoose, affectionately named Kiwi for her short brown fur, is our most popular addition. Since she is still so small, she does not bite like her older relatives. She is incredibly active, often running up and down the couches here at DAKTARI, and she is quite the chatterbox! DAKTARI has 5 other banded mongoose and we will introduce little Kiwi to the family when she is a bit bigger. We hope to release the whole family together once they all learn to get along.
The tiny baby birds are also keeping us on our toes. They have been tough to positively identify so we must wait until they've grown a bit before we will know what kind of birds they are. Yet unnamed, they are quite the handful. We have been feeding them termites, worms, and porridge every 30 minutes between 6am and 7pm. As you can imagine, it's a full time job!
Our baby squirrel is the newest addition and doesn't have a long story yet, but we'll update you on his progress.
The other animals at DAKTARI are enjoying the first rains of the season! We are beyond happy to report that we've started to see the rain that we so desperately need. In fact, it is raining as I write this report! With the intense drought we've been experiencing in our area of South Africa, it's a welcome sight.
It has been mostly good news here and we are excited to announce even more! On #GivingTuesday (November 29th), starting at 7am SAST, GlobalGiving will be matching donations to our project at 50% while funds last. We are asking all of our supporters to help fund our animal care in 2017 by making a donation to this project on November 29th. Your donations will give all 87 animals at DAKTARI a second chance at life.
Mark your calendars and spread the word!
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