Well despite the chilly weather, spring seems to have arrived. Five baby jackal pups were collected from Greytown to join their feline counterparts, the serval kittens and a very young jackal buzzard chick arrived from Shafton Grange in the Karkloof.
We have decided that the saying "cats rule, dogs drool" certainly applies. While the servals took to bottles easily and quickly and were generally a pleasure to have around, the jackals were very slow on the uptake ensuring that Israel had a milk bath every time he had to feed them – they definitely believed that we were out to poison them, perhaps as a result of years of persecution of their kind. Speaking of which, it was very heartening to hear how the farm labourers reported hearing the pups crying in the burrow and, after waiting for mom to return, helped the farmer dig them up and arrange for FreeMe to collect them. A big change from the time when "the only good jackal was a dead one".
The jackal buzzard chick was just too adorable, but has been sent to Ben Hoffman at Raptor Rescue. Baby raptors, along with cranes and several other bird species, imprint on anything that feeds them and get very attached to their handlers. This attachment can lead to a very possessive individual who can only be released back into the wild after a long and difficult rehabilitation process (if they can be returned at all). With sharp talons and rather smelly droppings, they do not make good house pets. Ben will try and get one of his own buzzard pairs to adopt him, allowing him to be raised as a fully functional wild bird.
So if you are a cat person and are feeling rather smug, or if you prefer our canine friends and would like to stick up for the underdog, please sms donate freeme to 48748 to donate R 10. If on the other hand you like both equally then do it twice. Add a liking for our little grey ball of fluff, Fugly, who is just too cute, then three times is mandatory.
News and pictures kindly provided by FreeMe