Keep Our Rescued Animals Healthy & Safe

Wow, the past few months have been very busy here at DAKTARI. We’ve been raising lots of babies and some of them have even been released already!

Most of the babies that have come in these past months are squirrels and mongooses. We found/welcomed a total of 6 squirrels, 4 of which are now happily roaming around our camp and one of which is still quite small and is still learning how to climb. The last one of the squirrels sadly died. He was only a few days old when he fell from the roof and had some internal damage. We tried to take care of him for a few days before he died from his injuries.

As hard as we try, it’s not always possible to save the animals that we find or that are brought to us. When the injuries are internal, there’s no way for us to heal them or when the animal is already too weak when it arrives, it’s sometimes not possible to save them.

We did however successfully take care of 3 baby mongooses. Monty is the oldest and is currently in an enclosure next to the rest of our bigger mongooses so he can be integrated in the group in a few weeks. Django and Teddy are a bit smaller but are also eating on their own already and love rolling around in their enclosure. Once they’re big enough we’ll also try to integrate them into the group so we can release all of them in a later stage.

The last baby that came in only two weeks ago is Pacou, a baby waterbuck. He’s the cutest little thing and he’s still getting used to his new environment. He’s started taking little walks around our garden where our sheeps keep him company, but he still spends a lot of time in his own camp to rest. We’ve made a video on how we take care of animals like him that you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQsEXgrzaIo&t=7s

January has been a busy month again for our wildlife orphanage! We welcomed 5 new babies, four squirrels and one klipspringer.

The DAKTARI team was first raising the 4 squirrels: Tracy, Morris, Wildy and Lana. These little babies fell from their nest earlier than they should. Some volunteers took care of them and they are now enjoying a big enclosure before we release them. Supervised by the team, the children get to help syringe feeding Tracy, Morris, Wildy and Lana, the little playful squirrel gang.

Mid January, a neighbouring farm found a baby klipspringer alone. We named him Barney and have been taking care of him since he arrived. This cute baby is now exploring his house and garden and loves climbing on the rocks.

Children that come to DAKTARI every week have little knowledge about their natural environment and the beautiful wild animals that live around them. By seeing and touching the animals, the children realise their importance for the environment and the need to protect them. This way, the kids get a personal experience with different animals, who become their teachers, showing them the importance of respecting and protecting the natural environment. And the personal bond between the children and the animals is one that will last a lifetime.