Build the Western Cape's 1st Wildlife Centre

Lovingly named the Baboon House by local residents as this now derelict building used to be the home to a baboon research and volunteer project many years ago.

Now after years of neglect it is the perfect site for the western capes first permitted rehabilitation centre. As the building and land is owned by the local municipality there were many steps and processes to go through in order to secure a lease agreement, but now everything is squared away and the team is ready to begin renovations, they just need the funds to do so.

Whilst waiting for the funds to get the centre into shape, the team has not been sitting by and waiting, they have jumped in with both feet and already are making a huge impact on the wildlife in the area. Here's a quick story from one of their most recent rescues.

GENET KITS REUNITED WITH MOM: Mitigating issues of human/animal conflict is one of the most important and time consuming jobs a wildlife rescuer can do, but it's by far the most rewarding !

When Dannie de Kock, from De Kock Towing in Grabouw discovered two tiny Genet kits under a pile of old tires, he did the right thing and called for advise. The tires had to be moved, which scared mom away, and left the babies vulnerable. With the help of the lovely ladies at Grabouw Animal Clinic, the kits were hydrated and kept warm until the late afternoon when the reuniting attempt began. Just after sunset I placed the babies back under a make-shift pile of tires at the spot where the nest had been, and then kept my distance, praying hard that she would return. When I checked at 8 pm I was relieved to see that she had collected one of them and that there was hope she would come back for the second one. I added a warmer to the box to ensure that the single baby did not become hypothermic. While waiting I was kept company by a security guard "Oupa"- who was most bemused by the goings-on, as he had never heard of a "muskeljaatkat!". To my great relief, when I checked at 9:30 pm the second baby had been collected!

Even in less than ideal locations, mitigation is always a rescuers first choice. Keeping a family together and avoiding hand raising a mammal is the best outcome we could possibly hope for!